Avocado
Ideal climate and favourable location
Colombia’s booming avocado industry
In the past decade, Colombia’s avocado production and exports have rapidly expanded. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the country is the 3rd largest producer in the world, after Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Just in 2014, the country exported 1,408 metric tons of avocados and this number went up to nearly 70,000 metric tons for the first nine months of 2021. It is an increase of 35 percent over the same period in 2020. What has contributed to the country’s avocado boom?
Baptiste Kervyn, CEO von Green SuperFood Colombia
production compared to some other proIt starts with an ideal climate to grow avo- STABLE INCOME AND LIMITED WATER duction areas in the world. cados. “We have two seasons that give us a USE solid fruit supply almost year-round,” says With the avocado being a relatively new With most farms in Colombia harbouring Baptiste Kervyn, CEO of Green SuperFood crop for Colombia, the country differ- large swaths of forests and jungles, strinColombia. The “Traviesa” season starts entiates itself by growing avocados in gent environmental regulations are in around March/April and stretches until a sustainable way, contributing to the effect to protect these areas. Most of the June/July while the main season starts in development of the country and its rural land that is now used for avocado producSeptember and continues through Janu- areas. “Avocado farms have enabled rural tion used to be coffee plantations or pasary, sometimes February. Altogether, this farms to create formal and sustainable ture for extensive livestock grazing. The allows Colombia to grow avocados 45 to 52 jobs and provide a stable income for the transition to growing avocados has resultweeks per year. Ideal growing conditions people in these rural communities.” Grow- ed in avocado trees being used as buffer have resulted in a significant increase of ing avocados sustainably is possible due zones for these large pristine forests. This planted acreage in the past decade, but to the country’s wide range of climatic development has increased the biodiversiKervyn expects production to stabilize in conditions, land bank, and rainfall. The ty of these territories. about three years. “The majority of plant- avocado production areas are located in ed orchards will come to maturity after a rainy part of the country, resulting in a 2025,” he said. very small water footprint per kilogram
13
