- The world’s most biodiverse country per square kilometre is attending the Madrid trade fair from 6 to 8 October with a delegation of around 20 companies specialising in exotic fruits and Hass avocados, showcasing the megadiversity of fruit produced in the country.
- Colombian exports of fresh fruit to Spain totalled USD 46.3 million between January and July 2026, representing an increase of almost 40 per cent compared with the same period in 2025.
Colombia is attending Spain’s leading fresh fruit trade fair with a delegation of 17 companies and a 120-square-metre stand to showcase its fruit diversity to the European continent. This participation is an initiative led by the Colombian National Government through the Colombian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism and ProColombia.
The business delegation will comprise Corpohass, the Hass avocado trade association, and 10 of its members – CI Caribbean Exotics, CI Nuticol SAS, Novacampo SAS, Tropigold SAS, Asoriofrio, Sociedad Portuaria Regional de Santa Marta SAS and Sociedad Portuaria Regional de Cartagena.
During the fair, there will be tastings of products and Colombia’s renowned coffee, organised by Supracafé, a company recognised by the UN for its inclusive business model involving women from Cauca, which will operate a permanent Colombian coffee station throughout the fair. This producer-led organisation will be showcasing 100% Colombian coffee, specifically ‘Café 100% Colombia AMUCC Organic and Fair Trade’ and ‘Café 100% Colombia Hacienda Supracafé’, which it produces itself.
Colombia is exporting more and more ‘new’ fruits to Spain
The range of Colombian fruit exports to Spain is diversifying thanks to growing demand for tropical fruits that, until recently, were not very well known in Spain, such as cape gooseberry, passion fruit, tree tomato, lulo, granadilla, guava and pitahaya. Exotic fruits are also gaining ground in the Spanish market. A good example is the gulupa, which recorded sales of USD 666,000 between January and July 2026, almost doubling the export value recorded in 2024.
Hass avocados and bananas: the main export products
The Hass avocado remains the star of the show, accounting for 27 per cent of Spanish purchases of fresh Colombian fruit between January and July 2026, with sales totalling USD 12.5 million – a 29.6 per cent increase compared with the same period the previous year. Bananas lead in economic volume, totalling more than USD 18.3 million across the Cavendish and plantain varieties, equivalent to 39 per cent of all Colombian fresh fruit exports to Spain. Meanwhile, Colombian mangoes continue to expand strongly, with growth of 19.2 per cent in January–July 2026 and exports exceeding USD 1.3 million.
Rainwater-irrigated avocados
In Colombia, 70 per cent of avocado producers are classified as very small-scale. Sustainability is a cornerstone of the development of Hass avocado cultivation in Colombia. The sector is governed by strict environmental regulations that ensure the sustainable management of resources such as water and soil. A sector that generates more than 16,000 direct jobs in producing areas and more than 48,000 indirect jobs, spanning the entire production and supply chain for export. Colombia is the seventh rainiest country in the world. Most of the water used in Hass avocado cultivation comes from rainfall.
Source: PROCOLOMBIA