Colombian Pork Exports Begin To The Ivory Coast and Hong Kong

Asian and African diners will receive the first shipment of 100 tons of Colombian pork between June and July of this year, to Hong Kong and the Ivory Coast. This milestone for the national porciculture industry is a result of the continual opening of international markets through initiatives by Colombia’s national government with the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, ProColombia, ICA (Colombian Agriculture Institute) and INVIMA (National Institute for Food & Drug Surveillance), which, together with industry group Porkcolombia and the International Marketing Company CI Porkco, are taking steps to open new markets for Colombian agriculture products.

ICA, as the national health authority, continues to facilitate export processes in Colombian ports so that the country’s agricultural products reach their destination in compliance with the sanitary conditions established during trade negotiations.

“The national pork sector is ready to reach the great international market. From ICA we will continue to accompany each process, and we will continue to manage to ensure that Colombian products reach markets around the world,” said ICA general manager Deyanira Barrero León.

Minister of Agriculture Rodolfo Zea Navarro emphasized that “the world trade in pork is over $28 billion USD and in Asia the dynamics are highly attractive, which leads us to redouble efforts to achieve sanitary access in markets such as Korea with which we have a trade agreement and China where pork is its main source of protein.”

Julio César Aldana Bula, General Director of Invima highlighted that “the advances of the Colombian meat industry and the fulfillment of high sanitary and safety standards allow the access of products such as pork to international markets. The efforts of the national government within the framework of the policy of health diplomacy have added to the commitment of the productive sectors, are allowing the expansion of opportunities for the commercialization of national production in different countries.”

INVIMA is the inspector for meat processing establishments, in order to ensure the quality and safety of products and compliance with sanitary standards in domestic and international markets.

The first 25-ton container will set sail from the port of Cartagena to Hong Kong, with products from five plants (Supercerdo Paisa, Frigorífico Colanta, Frigotun Pereira, La Fazenda and Carnes y Derivados de Occidente). Three containers of 25 tons each will be sent to the Ivory Coast between June and July, with products from Frigotun Pereira, Supercerdo Paisa and Carnes y Derivados del Occidente.

For his part, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Rodolfo Zea Navarro, explained that “we will maintain our efforts of inter-institutional coordination at the table for the promotion of pig meat exports, where we prioritize markets and actions focused on opening markets from health diplomacy. In more than 20 sessions we have prioritized actions in [focus] countries such as China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Ecuador, Peru, the Philippines, Malaysia and South Korea, with total imports of more than 2.8 million tons.”

Photo credit: Loren Moss