Colombia Avocado Board Reports Industry Operations Largely Unaffected Following Mid-August Earthquake
Orlando, FL – The Colombia Avocado Board (CAB) reports that the country’s avocado production and export operations remain largely unaffected following the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck western Colombia on August 10.
CAB Managing Director Manuel Michel, has contacted CAB exporter association members and spoke with avocado growers operating in several of the affected regions to assess conditions across the industry. Based on those conversations, reports indicate that avocado orchards, packing facilities, infrastructure systems and principal transportation routes are operating without limitations attributable to the earthquake.
Th earthquake was centered near San Jose del Palmar in the department of Chocó in western Colombia. Effects were reported across the coffee- and avocado-producing region departments of Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda, as well as Valle del Cauca. Most serious damage reports were from older buildings and areas in cities including Pereira, Cali, Quibdo, Armenia, and Manizales.
Landslides temporarily affected roads in avocado-producing areas, but major routes have been cleared and smaller roads are expected to return to normal operations shortly. Antioquia, Colombia’s largest avocado-producing department reported little to no disruption to avocado orchards, infrastructure or agroindustry operations.
“CAB’s assessment indicates that Colombia’s Hass avocado industry remains capable of supplying the U.S. market during the upcoming season without any expected changes,” Michel said. “Although the industry’s infrastructure was spared, we understand that some employees, their families and their communities have experienced personal losses and the industry is supporting them. Our thoughts remain with everyone affected as recovery efforts continue.”
Colombia’s main-season harvest has begun in some areas and is expected to build gradually as we move toward October and November, with the peak harvest period anticipated around January.
One report from Colombia stated, “We did not experience significant damage to our operations in the departments of Quindío and Caldas or at our packing facility in Antioquia,” said Sergio Plata country manager for Baika Fruits in Colombia. “Our employees are safe, and we are actively supporting affected communities in their recovery efforts. Our main-season harvest began in August, and we expect to have fruit available for shipment to the United States beginning around week 38.”
Ricardo Mejia, general manager of Fruty Green, which has operations in Risaralda, also reported that the company is operating normally after the earthquake. “We began harvesting during week 33, and the main-season crop is showing encouraging quality and volume. El Niño and the possibility of below-normal rainfall remain a concern, but growers are preparing and taking the steps available to manage those conditions.”
While avocado orchards and packing facilities generally avoided damage, the full extent of personal losses is still being assessed. Industry support efforts are being coordinated with Corpohass, Colombia’s association of Hass avocado growers and exporters. Those interested in additional information on how to contribute may contact Katheryn Mejia, executive director of Corpohass at presidencia@corpohass.com
About Colombia Avocado Board
The mission of CAB is to build the tools to work in sync with HAB to cultivate consumers in the United States by aligning growers, exporters, and importers together under one cohesive marketing effort focused on Colombian avocados. CAB was certified by USDA on January 7, 2020, under the authorization of the Hass Avocado Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 7801-7813).