Colombia increases exported agricultural products to U.S.

The first container of fresh Colombian mangos has arrived in the U.S. at the Port of Savannah, Georgia. From there, 20 tons of the fruit will be transferred to Gulf Port Mississippi to be distributed across the Southeast Coast of the U.S.

This follows several years of negotiations between government entities in Colombia and the United States. The work of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, ICA, ProColombia and the Embassy of Colombia in the United States paved the way for more admissibility of Colombian fresh fruit into the U.S.

“This represents a great opportunity to consolidate the exportable supply of fresh fruit, generating formal employment and opportunities in rural areas in our country,” said the Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism of Colombia, German Umaña Mendoza.

These mangos were grown at the Varahonda Farm in the municipality of Palmira and packed at Frutales Las Lajas in Zarzal, in the department of Valle del Cauca. They are being exported by Trópico Produce SAS and imported by American company Seasons Farm Fresh Inc.

The U.S. adds to the more than eight countries to which Colombian mangos are already being exported: Canada, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar among others.

Colombia has production capacity for this product every month of the year. “There are approximately 35,000 hectares of mangos in Colombia distributed in 22 departments, of which Cundinamarca is the largest producer, followed by Antioquia and Norte de Santander,” said the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cecilia López Montaño.

“We know mango consumption in the U.S. is very high and Colombia, besides having many logistical advantages such as several ports across the territory in the Pacific, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic, as well as a strategic geographical location close to the U.S., has one additional asset: it can produce mangos all year long,” said Nick Bernal, CEO of Seasons Farm Fresh Inc. “We began by importing in this shipment Keitt mangos, but soon, we also expect to bring baby mangos.”