Colombia exports this Thursday its first container of fresh mango to the United Statesgrown on the Varahonda farm in Palmira and packed at Frutales Las Lajas in Zarzal, Valle del Cauca, announced the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism.
(Meat, mango and avocado, the leaders of new exports).
After achieving sanitary access for export, the Colombian mango will arrive for the first time at the Port of Savannah (Georgia), on December 27.
This first export occurs after in 2021, and after several years of joint work, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States (APHIS, for its acronym in English) gave the endorsement to Colombian mangoes for their entry to the market.
“The first export of fresh mango to the United States represents a great opportunity to consolidate the exportable supply of fresh fruit, generating formal employment and opportunities in rural areas of the country”highlighted the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, German Umaña Mendoza.
The fruit was grown at the Varahonda farm in Palmira and packed at Frutales Las Lajas in Zarzal.
For his part, the Colombian ambassador to the United States, Luis Gilberto Murillo Urrutia, stressed that “We will continue working so that rural communities and minorities venture into foreign trade and dare to sell their agricultural products in this, which is our main market.”
(The United States authorizes the entry of Colombian mangoes).
The United States is a market that in 2021 imported USD$552 million in fresh mango from the world, and its main suppliers were Mexico and Peru.
In the period 2018 to 2021, fresh mango imports grew 29% in that country. This is a market that adds to the more than eight countries where Colombian mangoes are exported, which are Canada, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates and Qataramong others.
For his part, Juan Felipe Peña, manager of Agrícola Varahonda SA, the farm that produces the Keitt mango that will arrive in the United States, indicated that they hope that “Our fruit is going to be very well received in the North American market, and we see a lot of interest. We have a production forecast for next year of approximately one thousand tons.”
“This is great news for Colombian mangoes, which have been growing significantly in their exports and are now entering a market that offers multiple business opportunities. The international advance of the fruit will undoubtedly bring development to different regions of the country and will contribute to the construction of total peace”indicated Carmen Caballero, president of ProColombia.
(Tahiti lime, mango, and beef get ready to hit Korea.)
With mango, Colombia completes 108 fresh agricultural products that have the green light to enter that market. Among others are the paprika, Hass avocado, cape gooseberries, blueberries, tangerine, orange, pineapple, aromatic herbs and Tahiti lemon.
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