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Colombian sector shows its resilience The country managed to maintain
to producers in 2021 by €0.06 per kg, provoking a wave of protest
Yields keep on rising
from Colombia and other Latin American suppliers. The EU is by far
In 2020, there were 51,454ha of
Colombia’s biggest export market,
banana production in Colombia, an
taking 69 per cent of its shipment
increase of 227ha on the previous year.
volume – or 69m boxes – last year.
Average per-hectare yields rose by
But Emerson Aguirre, president
173 boxes to 2,134 boxes. Augura says
production and exports in 2020 despite
of Augura, says Aldi is overlooking
the improvement was mainly due to to
fighting the pandemic and TR4, says
the cost increases related to the
better climatic conditions in the first
pandemic and the fight against
half of the year, as well as the work
Fusarium wilt TR4. “Growing
done by the Banana Research Centre,
bananas in a sustainable way
Cenibanano, in providing helpful
requires a high level of investment,
tools such as the Climate Network, a
which is borne exclusively by the
climate monitoring and forecasting
producer while the rest of the
project allowing growers to plan their
actors in the value chain evade any
production accordingly.
Emerson Aguirre of Augura. by Maura Maxwell @maurafruitnet
responsibility,” he explains. Despite the complications that Covid has brought, the banana
of the sector by paying a fair price
industry put in a solid performance
for our product.”
in 2020, with exports rising by 6.5
in the north of the country in
in volume to US$916.2m and 109m
August 2019, Colombia has managed
boxes respectively. Nevertheless,
to successfully contain the spread
Aguirre says the present direction of
of TR4. Aguirre says this is down
travel is unsustainable.
to the coordinated efforts from the
“Today we continue to
Agricultural Institute, regional
transportation costs due to the
and local authorities, unions
protocols implemented during the
and international producers and
pandemic and the cost of dealing
markets.
“As an industry we are
president Emerson Aguirre
C
“Thanks to the rigorous biosecurity protocols that have been
commi ed to sustainability, we
implemented the fungus has not
pay a decent wage and guarantee
spread to other farms,” he says.
fair working conditions; we strive
“Through Cenibanano, we have
to comply with the highest quality
been working with the Colombian
standards and this is reflected in
Agricultural Research Corporation,
the international certifications that
Agrosavia, on the development of
we have earned. For this reason, we
new varieties of banana plant
olombian banana
invite the international market to
material with TR4 resistance, but
association Augura has
participate with the sustainability
this work is long term.” _
warned that the double
RIGHT—Colombia
whammy of Covid and Fusarium
has managed to
wilt TR4 could derail the industry’s
contain TR4 since
efforts to make banana production
its discovery in
more sustainable unless retailers
two farms in 2019
Ministry of Agriculture, Colombian
face higher production and
with Panama disease,” he says.
ABOVE—Augura
Since its discovery on two farms
per cent in value and 9.34 per cent
are prepared to pay a more realistic price for the fruit. At the end of last year, German retailer Aldi, which sets benchmark for the retail market price in the European Union, announced that it was cu ing the price paid
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fresh focus banana 2021
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