The flower sector in the country represents one of the greatest dynamics of the agricultural economy, thanks to its export vocation has open markets in at least 100 destinations worldwide.
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Because of this, the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) carried out a visit to a farm producing new varieties of carnations, located in La Sabana de Bogotá, to verify phytosanitary quality and maintain foreign sales, which so far this year amount to more than 519 million stems.
“ICA is providing support to two companies from the municipality of Bojacá, in Cundinamarca, which have been in the country for 38 years and have established a hybridization program since 1998. 100% of the varieties they export are made by Colombian biologists, who have been in charge of conquering international markets, due to the quality of the carnation, its shapes and colors.“, the entity states.
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They add that this plan also seeks to open a path in the domestic market of countries such as Ecuador, Brazil, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Spain, Italy, Holland, China, Korea and Japanwho have been the largest buyers of these carnation varieties, classified as some of the best flowers grown in Colombia.
It is worth noting that Colombian companies are making progress in agricultural research, development and innovation (RD+i), creating new varieties of carnations to cover national primary production, the provision of cut flowers and their placement in foreign trade.
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The ICA’s Deputy Manager for Border Protection, Wilkien Antonio Ramírez, acknowledged the plant breeding work being done by companies in the flower sector. He also highlighted that “Colombia is the country that exports the most carnations in the world and for this reason the support of the Institute is necessary so that the growth of this sector always goes hand in hand with the ICA, an entity that has a clear mission and seeks to be closer to the field.”.