Colombia: Mango exports grew significantly in 2016
Colombian mango exports have experienced a significant increase in 2016 compared to 2015, from 283 tons of that year to a total of 403t, according to the deputy minister of Agriculture and Livestock Affairs, Juan Pablo Pineda. In their opinion, these data show the great commercial and productive potential of this sub-sector whose main markets are Canada and the European Union (mainly countries like Spain, France and Portugal).
Juan Pablo Pineda has highlighted the opportunities of the Colombian mango in the international markets, which in the last year has doubled its exports, and invited small producers to associate around postharvest issues and technology
He also explained that after sowing 432 thousand hectares in the last two years thanks to Colombia Siembra, a policy led by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Aurelio Iragorri Valencia, the efforts will be directed towards projects of productive transformation and technological packages. “We have already sowed a post-harvest approach, that is, the adequate disposal of agro products in projects that generate value added. We are very good at seeing opportunities and not catching them, so we have to get the juice out of the entrepreneurial culture, taking advantage of our resources in water, sunlight and land”, he added.
The departments with the highest production of mango are Cundinamarca, Tolima and Magdalena, representing 68% of the total area planted in the country, with a total area of 24,956 hectares, a production of 259,072 tons and a yield of 11 tons per hectare. On average mango consumption in Colombia has increased by 2.5% each year
The promotion of planting is directly linked to the increase in per capita consumption of the world and the country, which is in 5.4 kilos and is expected to increase to 6.3 kilos / person / year. This fact has also put Colombia as a potential provider
Colombia has 33 pulping companies, which transform the product into preserved and dehydrated mango. The challenge for producers is to become certified in good agricultural practices to take advantage of opportunities abroad.
Mango, along with palm and cocoa was a product identified by the Andean Chamber of Procultives as one of the country’s greatest commercial and productive potential in the medium term
Fedemago’s CEO, Mario Fernández, has pointed out that the most desirable variety is the sugar mango and that it is projected to close this 2017 with 32 thousand hectares, with an average growth of 3 thousand new hectares per year. “The support of the Ministry has been fundamental, especially in technical assistance that have benefited more than 4 thousand producers with technological packages”, he emphasized.
Due to its high technology, this crop has contributed to reduce the unemployment rate in productive areas of the country: three hectares of mango remove a family from poverty
Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Colombia.
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