The US greenlights imports of Colombian fresh mango

The Colombian American Chamber of Commerce, AmCham, reported that the United States authorized the importation of fresh mango from Colombia. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (Aphis) highlighted that “… this commodity will be imported using safeguarding measures across the production continuum that growers, packers, and shippers put in place to minimize the risk of introducing plant pests and noxious weeds into the United States.”

Thus, the exporters interested in selling their mango in the United States must implement protection measures to mitigate pest risks in the places where the fruit is grown. They will also have to be registered with the ICA and implement the necessary actions to prevent fruit flies both in production and in packaging, which must be controlled by the Colombian health authorities.

Volumes (in Kg) of mangoes from Colombia in the US Market

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

“This is important news for the country’s process of diversifying non-mining exports. The agricultural sector leads these exports to the United States, a market that imports 600 to 650 million dollars of mango from different markets, according to the US Census Bureau,” stated Maria Claudia Lacouture, the director of the Colombian American Chamber of Commerce, AmCham Colombia.

Currently, Mexico is the US market’s main mango supplier with exports worth 381.4 million dollars. It is followed by Peru with sales of 77.8 million dollars and the Philippines with imports worth 31.0 million dollars.

Volumes (in Kg) of mangoes, in the US Market, by origin

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

Currently, Colombia’s main mango producing departments are Cundinamarca, Tolima, Atlantico, Cesar, Magdalena, Antioquia, Cordoba, Cauca, and Valle del Cauca.