Colombia's 2025 avocado season has become one of the most challenging for the sector, which faces an oversupply scenario, depressed prices, logistical obstacles, and adverse weather conditions that have complicated marketing.
"Peru had an early harvest, which started in May, so it's flooded the U.S. and European markets. It is expected to export up to 850 containers a week during June, which has led to a general slump in prices. By way of comparison, a 48-caliber box of avocados, which was previously sold for more than 30-40 dollars, now costs around 20 dollars or less. These are challenging prices for Colombia, especially after adding the 10% tariff that the United States applies to Colombia's fruit," stated Daniela Santos and María Isabel Gaviria, commercial director and general manager of Coltrópicos, respectively.
"Some clients in the United States with fixed programs are switching to Peruvian avocados simply because of the price. In addition, there's been a generalized drop in volumes, with clients slowing down their shipments due to the oversupply of fruit in the market. This situation slows down the movement of the product, hinders inventory turnover, and generates overstocks, directly impacting the planning and execution of our weekly shipments. There is also competition from Mexico, which enters the U.S. markets without paying tariffs and has more efficient logistics. That's why consumers must value our origin and prefer it over others," says Santos.
"In addition, the rains in Colombia have slowed down the harvests. Not only do they affect direct harvesting, but they also worsen the country's already poor road conditions, delaying arrival times at ports. The availability of controlled atmosphere containers is another bottleneck. Shipping lines are meeting schedules with greater punctuality, but getting available units remains a challenge," Santos and Gaviria stated.
Coltrópicos tries to stay flexible. For example, they mainly send small avocados to Europe, where there is less supply of such dimensions. They deliver what customers specifically ask for and try to avoid surpluses. "Initially, we estimated we would export up to six containers per week, mostly to the U.S., but the reality is that we're barely shipping one or two containers, alternating destinations according to demand," they stressed.
Faced with the saturation of the United States and Europe, the company explores new markets such as Canada, Central America, Chile, the Middle East, and Asia. However, maritime transit times complicate the shipment of fresh fruit. That's why Coltrópicos is considering air shipping as an alternative for the Middle East and Asia. However, this involves higher costs.
"We must continue delivering our products, even if we have to sell them at low prices. That way, when Peru withdraws from the market, customers will know that we can reliably supply them throughout the whole year," Gaviria stated.
In addition, the company will open a new factory for frozen avocado pulp in September. This will allow it to process fruit that does not meet the aesthetic standards for the fresh market and supply frozen avocado pulp to the markets where it's hard to deliver fresh avocados.
For more information:
Daniela Santos and María Isabel Gaviria
Coltrópicos
Colombia
Tel.: +57 311 3639971 / +57 311 3466844
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
www.coltropicos.com