In 2022, Colombia is positioned to continue as the third country that exports the most Hass avocados to Europe, according to figures from the Corporation of Producers and Exporters of Hass Avocado of Colombia (Corpohass).

Recently, Forbes reported that 32% of Colombian agricultural exports end up in a country in the European Union, according to Semana.

Hass avocado has recently been taken advantage of under the Trade Agreement between Colombia and the European Union.

Before 2013, Hass avocados from the country didn't reach that part of the world, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism said.

Jorge Enrique Restrepo, executive president of Corpohass, said that the country is surpassing countries such as Chile and Israel, in terms of the Hass avocado exports.

He said taking into account that the Chilean harvest ends in early January, Colombia will once again position itself as the largest Hass avocado exporter to Europe, just like last year.

Although the situation due to Covid-19 has reduced exports and international markets, Restrepo said that strict biosafety protocols are still being used, both on the farms and in the respective packing plants.

"While supermarkets remain open, the Colombian Hass avocado will continue to see great opportunities in foreign trade."

The Center for International Cooperation in Agronomic Research for Development (Cirad) confirmed that, according to the export movements of the first weeks of the year, Colombia is the first supplier of Hass avocado in Europe, before Israel, Spain, Chile and Mexico.

This is a result of the efforts made by the private sector, led by Corpohass, and the public sector with the Commerce and Agriculture portfolios along with ProColombia and ICA, Flavia Santoro, president of ProColombia said.

The work of Colombian producers to expand the area of crops and on foreign trade has also been fundamental.

The success of this fruit in Europe is due to the pattern of consumption, Javier Díaz, president of the National Association for Foreign Trade (Analdex) said.

While larger varieties of avocados are more attractive to Colombians, in Europe people tend to consume the entire fruit when they sit down to eat.

Foreign investors have also played a significant role. Díaz said that “the areas have been expanding in terms of crops and even more foreign investment has arrived from places such as Chile and South Africa, to develop Hass avocados in Colombia."

“The sum of these efforts has resulted in a high-quality fruit that meets international standards."