Colombia To Bring New Opportunity To PMA Fresh Summit

The Colombian Pavilion at the 2014 Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit Exposition will feature new opportunities for popular products including avocado, goldenberry (uchuva), pineapple, herbs and limes. Visitors to the Colombia Pavilion will be able to meet with exporters as well as promotion representatives and learn more about the new developments allowing for successful export of these products.

In the case of goldenberry (also known as uchuva, physalis or Cape gooseberry), Colombia is now approved by authorities for entry of goldenberry into the United States without cold treatment from certain parts of the country. U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has recognized the Bogota Savannah and parts of neighboring Boyac and Cundinamarca departments above 2,200 meters as Medfly-free. The systems approach approved for this export scenario will allow Colombia exporters to ship a higher quality, fresher product than those needing to be held in cold treatment.  Goldenberry from Colombia is available year round.

Another remarkable development is the admissibility of Hass avocados from Colombia, the country is currently working to get.  The Colombian Hass avocado industry currently exports to Europe and the industry continues to invest with the goal of expanding exports to the U.S. Colombia's Hass Avocado production runs from September to June, with peaks from October to January.

The Colombian Pavilion will also promote exports of established products like fresh herbs (basil, mint, cilantro, dill, thyme, bay leaves) pineapples (variety MD 2 Golden) and limes (Tahiti). Colombia's long history of exporting flowers and fresh produce around the world coupled with extraordinary prime growing climates for specific products holds great promise for expanding sourcing deals for the U.S. Country representatives look forward to exploring additional products and opportunities with interested parties. Industry members and press are encouraged to stop by the Colombian Pavilion, booth # 4629, to find out more about what Colombia has to offer.

Source: Proexport Colombia