Eastern Colombia's first processing plant for fresh Hass avocados and Tahiti lemons has opened its doors in the Cauca Valley.

The plant comes with GlobalGAP certification and can process up to three containers of fruit a week, the Colombian Agriculture Institute (ICA) reported.

"This plant is very important for Colombian agricultural trade since Hass avocados are one of the most prioritized products for Colombian exports, mainly with the United States where the institute is working hard to achieve entrance of the product," institute manager Teresita Beltrán Ospina said.

The eastern central region of Colombia produces a third of the nation's Hass avocados with 1,832 planted Ha.

The new plant is able to process 7.5 tons (MT) of fruit an hour, ICA said. It was built with the contribution of specialists from Mexico, Peru and Chile.

For 2013, Colombia hopes to produce 27,000 MT of Hass avocados and increase production to 62,000 by 2016.

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