Fruits and Vegetables

Colombia's fruit and vegetables sector benefits from the country's diverse topography and climate zones, which allow crops to be harvested year-round. Colombia's fresh fruit production grew 20.6% in the last 5 years, reaching 7.3 million tons in 2019.

Why invest in Colombia's fruit and vegetable sector?

Potential for growth

• According to the FAO, Colombia is on its way to becoming one of the world's agricultural pantries, given the global growth expected in the coming years. Approximately half of the land that could go into agricultural production is located in seven tropical countries, including Colombia.[1]
• Colombia has more than 2.4 million hectares suitable for growing avocados (82,946 grown); 12.5 million hectares for pineapples (38,317 grown); 11.2 million for mangoes (33,433 grown); 12.3 million for bell peppers (3,479 grown); 11.7 million for chili peppers (5,225 grown); 8.2 million for papayas (8,736 grown); 3 million for strawberries (2,552 grown); 13.1 million for onions (15,889 grown); and 1.4 million hectares for potatoes (190,954 grown), among others.[2].

Fresh fruit offering in Colombia

• Colombia has a wide variety of tropical fruits (banana, avocado, lime, pineapple, and mango) and exotic fruits (goldenberry, gulupa, dragon fruit, granadilla) that are popular in the international market.
• Colombia’s diverse topography and climate zones allow a wide variety of fruits to be harvested year-round.
• Colombia’s high quality fruits have excellent organoleptic properties, with some of the best colors, flavors, aromas, soluble content, and BRIX values when compared to products from other countries in the subtropical region.

Colombia's fruit market

• Colombia is the top exotic fruit exporter in the Americas. It is also the continent's second largest banana exporter and ranks fourth in avocados and sixth in limes.
• Colombian fruit exports have reached a compound annual growth of 7% over the last 5 years.
• In 2019, Colombia's apparent fruit consumption reached 9.7 million tons, while vegetable, legume, and tuber consumption reached 10.3 million tons, a 20.5% and 31.2% increase respectively since 2015.

National government initiatives and programs for the fruit and vegetables sector

• Colombia's government is developing policies to strengthen the sector and generate opportunities for export growth. Some of these strategies include health diplomacy, Coseche y venda a la fija, Colombia Exporta Agro, 360 Strategy, and Economic Growth Agreements, among others.

Investment opportunities in Colombia's agricultural sector:

• Invest in machinery for phytosanitary treatment to facilitate compliance with sanitary regulations for fruits such as papaya, dragon fruit, and mango.
• Develop strategic partnerships with local fruit and vegetable owners and producers to take advantage of Colombia's suitability for horticultural growth.
• Build warehouse facilities for proper fruit selection, preparation, and export.
• Set up plants for Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) product lines and introduce such product to countries with whom Colombia has trade agreements as well as third-party countries.

[1] http://www.fao.org/3/y3557s/y3557s08.htm
[2] https://upra.gov.co/uso-y-adecuacion-de-tierras/evaluacion-de-tierras/zonificacion