Tropical and Exotic Fresh Fruit (Colombia)

This programme is part of CBI’s country programme Colombia. The country programme covers several different sectors. The fresh Fruit sector is important for the country’s economy. Also, growth in the sector will mean more jobs for people living in rural areas. With project support, these participating companies are expected to increase their combined exports to Europe by EUR 3 million.

Tropical fresh fruit is in demand in Europe. Import of avocados, for instance, is still increasing. Colombia has the advantage of being able to sell tropical fruit the whole year round. This is because of the country’s favourable climate.

Project details

This programme began in 2014 and will end in 2018. In 2014, we selected participants. In 2015, we audited them individually. The 8 participating companies are being supported through individual export coaching and group training on all issues that are critical to successfully export to the European market. Supported by a CBI sector expert, they develop and implement an Export Marketing Plan and work on key actions to improve their products, services and/or production processes, implement standards and acquire the necessary certifications for a successful European market entry. The fruit companies were invited to Europe in 2015 to visit importers and a trade fair in Spain. Now they have a far better understanding of what European buyers and consumers want.  In 2016 they are being supported in developing and implementing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices.

The next phase in the programme will be market entry. One company already exhibited successfully at Fruit Logistica 2016 in Berlin, Germany.

At the same time, CBI will work closely with project partners to create a more enabling environment for Colombian fresh tropical and exotic fruit producers. On sector level there will be a focus on solving the bottlenecks for export of the Hass avocado for which European demand is high and growing. This will include training producers, exporters and packers of Hass avocado through local training institutions, updating national quality standards for Hass avocado taking into account quality requirements of European buyers, and the design and roll-out of a national avocado promotion strategy and action plan for the European market.

Project participants and products

A total of 8 fruit exporters are taking part in this programme. They offer the following products:

• Papaya
• Hass avocado
• Purple passion fruit
• Passion fruit
• Physalis
• Granadilla
• Tahiti limes
• Mango

Meet the participants

You can contact CBI to get in touch with these exporters. Another possibility is to meet participants at the trade fairs we will attend with these companies in Europe.

Partners

CBI is working with several Colombian business support organisations in this programme:

• ProColombia, the government’s export promotion agency
• Asohofrucol, a Colombian fruit growers’ association
• Analdex, national export association

These organisations help us facilitate the programme. Their involvement means the programme can impact the entire sector, not just individual companies.

Get involved as an importer

Are you a European importer interested in fresh fruit from Colombia? If you are, you can contact CBI to find out more or to meet with potential suppliers who have been trained for export to Europe. In order to make the most out of this programme we are involving European importers directly and actively in our programme.

Get involved in this project