Colombian Avocado Market Guide

• The supply chain of Colombian avocados starts from growers, which then goes to packers and finally to the exporter. 

• There are two types of producers and buyers:

1. Producers
   Type 1: National Market Type 2: International Market
2. Buyers
   Type 1: National Market / Type 2: International Market
   (Usually in the form of a packing warehouse)

• Most of the time, exporters have contracts with smaller growers. They then pay a separate packing facility a certain fee to pack their products. For this reason, many exporters share packing facilities. The larger, top 3-5 Hass avocado exporters have their own packing facilities and farms.
• Buyers place orders in advance, by making pre-purchases.
• In 2020, the Top 5 largest Colombian Avocado exporters occupied 61% of total export shares. 32% of the remaining shares included the shares of 20 smaller companies. The top 5 largest Colombian Avocado exporters and the 20 smaller companies altogether constituted 93% of total exports.
• Large companies dominate the market. Aside from the top 5, there exist multiple small exporters who only have around 1% of the market share. 
• In the Colombian Avocado Value Chain, agents or brokers don’t play a big role because existing exporters are already well-connected with suppliers.

There are no middlemen since the objective of the exportation companies is to sell directly to final buyers.

In order to secure supplies, one must put in orders at least 2 months in advance to get hold of a substantial amount of volume because it requires time for suppliers to check harvest outcomes and packing house capacities. If seeking to spot-buy, one must look for empty spaces to schedule and secure supplies.

Value Chain: Growers (Exporters) – Exporters – Sourcing companies at destination countries- Distributors & Retailers in destination countries

Given that Colombia is ranked as one of the global top 5 avocado harvesting countries, it comes as no surprise that most Colombian Avocado exporters (85%) own their production facilities.

Colombia's Avocado Grower (Supplier) market is relatively fragmented, as Colombia is considered to be a relatively young avocado-growing country that only started to grow rapidly in 2013. The growth of Colombia's Avocado industry is largely attributed to its social and supply networks.

Most notably, Colombia is home to CORPOHASS (La corporación de productores y exportadores de aguacate Hass de Colombia), the country's national association for Hass avocado.

Colombia’s major avocado-producing regions are Tolima, Caldas, Antioquia, Santander, Valle del Cauca, Risaralda, and Quindio.

- 36% of all avocado productions come from Antioquia

- Valle del Cauca has the biggest yield per acres, producing 13 MT per acre

- Caldas produces 12 MT per acre

- Tnioquia produces 11 MT per acre

Colombian Hass avocado is produced almost all year long. Its peak production seasons are from January-June and September-December. One of the biggest challenges is that it has the same seasonality as avocados in Mexico, the largest exporter of Hass avocados.

In Colombia, Hass avocado is produced almost all year long, with high peak seasons in all months except for July and August: January, February, March, April, May, June, September, October, November, and December. Moreover, one of the biggest challenges of exporting avocados in Colombia is that it has the same seasonality as avocados from Mexico, which is the largest exporter of Hass avocados.

The most cultivated varieties in Colombia are:

• Lorena
• Trinidad
• Booth-8
• Fuerte
• Hass
• Trapo
• Santana
• Colinred
• Ettinger 
  

Among these varieties, the Hass avocado variety has the largest export volume.

• The top destinations for Colombian Avocados are the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Spain, France, and Norway. With Colombia being the #1 avocado supplier to Europe, Colombian avocado exporters are also searching for new markets to penetrate Asia, the Middle East, and North America.

• Some notable growing importers of Colombian Avocados include the USA, Estonia, and Luxembourg.

• There is a rising demand for Colombian Avocados in Europe, which has been the fastest-growing importer in the last 5 years (2016-2020) (ex. Spain +2509.49% / Germany +1801.07%)

• The Colombian advantage in exporting to European Ports is that it takes only 18 days to ship. Despite short shipping times, avocados tend to sell at higher prices because Colombian exporters have become accustomed to exporting directly to European supermarkets.