Foreign investment conglomerate seeks to increase avocado production in Colombia

Managro is a foreign investment conglomerate focused on agro-industrial activity in Latin America, particularly on the production of Hass avocado. For this reason, in 2021 they plan to acquire 3.700 hectares of land in Colombia for development of this crop.

Managro CEO, Chagai Stern, says the goal is to guarantee production throughout the year with a better quality avocado, which means that when one region finishes harvesting, another will replace it.

The project is complicated because it is based on genetics, an issue little known to producers who do not have irrigation systems that favor cultivation.

This strategy will lead to the Colombian product being more welcomed by foreign importers.

According to Stern, they need an investment of $60 million, 3 times more than what has been allocated so far in other agro-industrial developments, for $20 million.

He pointed out that Hass avocados from Chile, Mexico and Peru are more demanded due to their quality and when there is a harvest in these countries, the price of Colombian fruit drops.

On the other hand, the Colombian product is more widely recognized when these countries are not producing.

However, this strategy may be threatened by Peru, which seeks to extend its harvest period in the future.

According to the businessman, making the local avocado better is a challenge for Colombia, because if competing countries start growing the product all year round, consumers would no longer take the Colombian offer into account.

Managro's production lands are located mainly in Santa Fe de Antioquia, San Francisco and Santuario, all municipalities in Antioquia.

Its main recipients are in the US and Europe. In 2020, they exported 3.7 million kilos of fruit from the packing plant that they bought in Palmira. By 2021 they plan to double this volume.

source: portafolio.co

photo: thecitypaperbogota.com