Doris Chingate, project manager of Agroexpo, highlighted that “This fair not only exceeded attendance expectations, but also confirmed that the heart of Colombian agriculture beats stronger than ever. Behind this historic fair, hundreds of hands made it possible: the logistics team, the producers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, engineers, technicians, veterinarians, designers, assemblers, commercial team, communications, service personnel, registration, security, box office, and all the collaborators of Corferias and allied unions. Each one left their soul so that the countryside would shine in the city. Today, more than 290,000 visitors can say that they lived an unforgettable Agroexpo.”

The Agroexpo 2025 Business Roundtable closed with more than 600 appointments between 214 exhibitors and 44 buyers from Latin America and the Caribbean. Photo credit: Agroexpo.

According to Daniel Espinosa, president of UNAGA, “Agroexpo 2025 has been an unprecedented celebration. This edition consolidates our fair as the most important meeting point between producers, entrepreneurs, guilds, and rural families from all over the country. Seeing thousands of people touring the pavilions, connecting with the land, learning, and dreaming of a stronger and modern future, is proof of the commitment we have to rural development. From the 27 livestock associations that belong to UNAGA, we celebrate the effort of all those who made it possible and reaffirm our pride in representing the productive heart of Colombia.”

A successful business roundtable

The Agroexpo 2025 Business Roundtable was also a resounding success, with total expected revenues exceeding $4.1 million USD (more than $16.700 million COP at the value of the current TRM). During July 15 and 16, more than 600 appointments were held between 214 exhibitors and 44 international buyers from 10 countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic, and Venezuela.

During the event, spot deals were made for $1.4 million USD, and commercial agreements for $2.78 million USD were projected to be carried out in the next 12 months. This balance demonstrates the export potential of Colombian agriculture and Agroexpo’s ability to promote the countryside with international markets.

A protected and guarded fair that takes care of each animal

Carlos Augusto Ríos Martínez, Cundinamarca sectional manager of the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA), highlighted, “As responsible for the country’s agricultural health, the ICA has had a decisive participation in Agroexpo 2025, as it does every year, guaranteeing the inspection, surveillance, and control of the entry and stay of animals and plants. At the close of the fair, we can give a piece of peace of mind: there was no risk situation.”

Ríos underscored the effort of the technical and veterinary team that operated in shifts from July 6 to 21, and stressed that a fair with the volume of entry and exit of animals, such as Agroexpo, requires intense logistical work.

He also highlighted the work of the team for the issuance of mobilization and plant health guides, especially in controls such as the prevention of the entry of restricted products, such as non-certified potatoes, due to diseases such as purple tip. “We still have lessons learned, but the balance is highly positive. From now on, we are working with the organizers to strengthen processes towards the next edition.”

Agroexpo 2025. Photo credit: Agroexpo.

On the other hand, the District Institute for Animal Protection and Welfare – IDPYBA carried out inspections throughout the fair to verify how the five fundamental freedoms of the animals present at Agroexpo 2025 were guaranteed.

These inspections focused on validating that all specimens were:

• Free of hunger and thirst;
• Free of discomfort;
• Free from pain, injury, or disease;
• Free to express natural behavior; and
• Free from fear and anguish. This rigorous monitoring was key to ensuring a dignified and respectful stay with animal welfare throughout the fair.

Auctions by Asocebú, UNAGA, and Fedegán

In total, the four auctions held during Agroexpo 2025 reached sales of $2.479 million COP, with a total of 163 lots offered. “These auctions reaffirm the solidity and projection of the Colombian livestock business, as well as the genetic quality of the specimens presented,” said Espinosa. They were carried out as follows:

Asocebú began on July 11, 2025, with “La Gran Reserva”, an auction where 50 lots were offered, focused on pasture specimens as breeders, levante females, and belly females, with the participation of breeders from all over the country. The day closed with more than $1 billion COP in sales.

On July 12, it was the turn for the “Great Auction of Specimens of Cabezal”, with 35 lots made up of animals that had been judged during the first week of the fair, many of them awarded, and that reached sales close to $700 million.

For its part, Fedegán, located in pavilion 4 and which had more than 60 commercial allies and an academic agenda dedicated to animal health, international markets, sustainability, and promotion of consumption, advanced in its auctions with the participation of cattle ranches such as Acres Farm, Hacienda la Ponderosa, and Hacienda Cuba, reaching high sales numbers.

On July 18, the “UNAGA – TVGAN Diamond Auction” was held in the Main Auditorium of Corferias, where more than 40 lots focused on meat specimens were offered. And the day closed with $337 million in sales. On Saturday, the 19th, it was the turn of the “Remate Estrellas de Fedegan,” where 38 batches focused on milk were offered, and the day closed with $442 million in sales.

A tour in numbers through the most historic version of the fair

The 25th edition had several exhibition areas, located throughout the fairgrounds: in pavilion 8, level 2, there were about 250 sheep of different breeds: hair, milk, materna, and meat breeds. In this space, 27 associated breeders participated, 10 pens with more than 50 producers.

Compared to the four auctions carried out by ASOCEBÚ, UNAGA, and Fedegán, it reached sales close to $2.479 million USD, with a total of 163 lots offered. Photo credit: Agroexpo.

Another of the places that captured the attention of the attending public was the stalls, which received in the first week horses from countries such as Switzerland and Holland, where the breeds specialized in heavy draft took the limelight. While for the second week of the Fair, trot horses and Paso Fino were the protagonists.

One of the events with the highest influx of the public was the “Copa Colombia Agroexpo 2025”, held from July 17 to 20, in which 532 specimens participated and four gaits were judged. The winners in each category were:

Track and gallop:

• Grand Champion: Neptune of Montesa
• Grand Champion: 2M Star
• Reserved Champion: Rancho San Juanito Furor
• Reserve Champion: Perennial Victory of the Ceiba
• Young Champion: Cantador de Mis Potrillos
• Young Champion: Malagueña from Rancho La Luna
• Grand Champion: Chaotic Diamond of Salem
• Grand Champion: Mission Accomplished by Carolina de Los Mellis
• Reserved Champion: Kronos of Two Steps
• Reserved Champion: Welcome from La Cristalina
• Young Champion: Corso de Nuevo Amanecer
• Young Champion: Antioqueñita from Rancho La Milagrosa

Colombian Paso Fino:

• Grand Champion: Bandit Lover
• Grand Champion: 3C Pepper
• Reserved Champion: Ponderosa Chapala Show
• Reserved Champion: Queen of Hacienda Heisen
• Young Champion: Splendid Arizona from Villa Natalia

This was the experience of the exhibitors

Diego Villanueva, national commercial manager of Global Motors:

“Agroexpo 2025 was a great fair for us. We closed deals for approximately $700 million COP, and we managed to get many visitors, who were expecting to physically see our tractors, to check their quality and robustness. This fair allowed us to better position ourselves in the market, and we will undoubtedly participate again in the next edition.”

Juan Fernando Mejía Isaza, manager of Premex:

“Agroexpo 2025 was a total success for us. It had been years since we had participated with our stand and returning with our lines of animal nutrition and health for horses, beef and dairy farming, and pig farming was a wise decision. We made direct sales for more than 25 million pesos, but the most valuable thing was the commercial reach: more than 100 contacts between end customers, distributors, and suppliers from all over the country and abroad.”

Marco Tulio Pérez, representative of the Ministry of Agriculture of Huila:

“The balance of Agroexpo 2025 for the department of Huila is highly positive. Our entrepreneurs, who presented production lines such as coffee, cocoa, panela, fruit, and derivatives, achieved important commercial contacts, especially with markets in Bogotá. We highlight strategic alliances, such as the one reached between cocoa producers and the Mayor’s Office of Tenjo. In addition, export opportunities were created that open a new panorama for regional agriculture: 5,000 tons of cocoa to Russia and organic powdered panela destined for Spain.”

Álvaro Ernesto Palacio, executive president of Asohofrucol:

“From Asohofrucol and the National Fund for Horticultural Development, we celebrate that fruit and vegetable producers have made real sales within the framework of Agroexpo 2025. This fair not only allowed us to make visible the potential of our fruits and vegetables, but also showed that the Colombian countryside does sell, it does grow, and it does have a market. Events like this are essential to continue strengthening commercial chains, opening new marketing channels, and positioning our products on the national and international stage.”

Carlos Fernando Mayorga, general manager of Fedepanela:

During the days of the fair, we estimate that more than 18,000 people visited our stand, thanks to a constant programming, a multisensory experience, and a strategic location. We managed to consolidate key institutional alliances, make new panela ventures visible, and offer innovative content that connected with audiences of all ages. From regional gastronomic shows and tastings, to activations with allied characters and brands, we show that life tastes like panela and we leave a clear message: panela is identity, flavor, and future for Colombia.”

Agroexpo 2025 highlighted the ongoing strength and connectivity of the Colombian countryside through its focus on tradition, innovation, and rural communities. The event, held at Corferias, brought together producers, entrepreneurs, and guilds for its 25th edition, continuing a tradition spanning over 50 years. Planning for the next Agroexpo has already begun.

Photo credit: Agroexpo.

Changes in the leadership of Colombia’s illicit crop substitution program and problems in its implementation raise questions about how organized crime is hindering the government initiative.

Colombia’s Comprehensive National Crop Substitution Program (Programa Nacional Integral de Sustitución de Cultivos) was born out of the 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC). The program’s goal is to reduce the amount of coca crops in the country through substitution, depriving criminal groups of the raw material needed for cocaine production.

However, the project’s implementation has faced major obstacles. Colombia continues to have the largest number of hectares of coca in the world and has recently broken records in cocaine production.

In mid-May, President Gustavo Petro named Gloria Miranda as the new national director of the Directorate for the Substitution of Illicit Crops, the entity in charge of implementing the program. Until then, Miranda had served as Director of Drug Policy and Related Activities in the Ministry of Justice.

Miranda’s new appointment is in response to criticism that the government has done little to implement the substitution program. During a Congressional debate in April, representatives announced that only 5% of the budget allocated to the program was used during 2023.

As a result of its failure to implement the program, the government’s relationship with communities in coca-growing areas has deteriorated. Coca growers in departments such as Norte de Santander and Córdoba announced that they will go on strike due to the government’s failure to uphold the substitution program. Families who signed substitution agreements continue to demand answers.

Below, InSight Crime explains key points from the current debate on coca cultivation in Colombia, how organized crime has hindered the implementation of the substitution program, and the role armed groups may play in the future of the initiative.

A Road Full of Obstacles

When the substitution program was created in 2017, experts considered it Colombia’s most ambitious coca crop substitution strategy yet. It was organized around agreements between families and the national government: families would eradicate their crops, and, in return, the government would provide subsidies and technical advice for short- and long-term agricultural projects.

“It was an overly ambitious program with huge goals,” Luis Felipe Cruz, a researcher at DeJusticia, a legal and social research center, explained to InSight Crime.

From the beginning, the substitution program was plagued with problems, starting with the lack of coordination between its management and the Ministry of Agriculture and other government institutions. The program was also hindered by its lack of budget and program design that failed to consider the different needs of different territories, according to a report by the Center for Studies on Security and Drugs of the Universidad de los Andes.

Criminal groups in coca-growing areas pointed to the shortcomings of the substitution program to legitimize their claims about the government’s failure to comply with the peace accords, and to increase distrust of the government among affected communities.

The failure to implement the substitution program also put social leaders who supported it in their territories at risk. After the government and families signed the agreements, the murder rate of social leaders increased by 546%, according to a study by economist Lucas Marín Llanes.

The national government’s drug policy outlines its strategy to implement the program, which consists of making payments of 36 million pesos — about $9,000 — to the families that joined. But the governments’ commitments to productive projects established at the outset of the program remain undefined.

The complex social and economic reality in coca-growing areas means these measures will not be enough to solve the violence that plagues local communities, where criminal groups have strengthened in the last year.

A Missed Opportunity

With recent changes in the criminal landscape, the coca market in Colombia has shifted.

Since the second half of 2022, farmers in departments that produce most of the country’s coca crops, such as Norte de Santander, Cauca, Nariño, and Putumayo, experienced a drop in coca leaf and coca paste prices of 45% and 30%, respectively.

There are several factors that influence changes in coca prices, such as a rise in the cost of raw material and the saturation of drug trafficking routes, or shifts in criminal control. One such change followed the FARC’s post-peace agreement exit from the territories in 2017.

Previously, the FARC dominated the coca market in the areas where they exercised territorial control. Since the FARC disarmed, other criminal groups have failed to establish the same level of control. Territorial disputes between groups such as the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN), the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC) and FARC dissidents have exacerbated the drop in coca prices, as international buyers are reluctant to visit these contested areas.

As a result of the collapse in coca prices, more coca growers are willing to consider substitute crops. In parts of the department of Cauca, farmers have even turned to coffee as a solution. This is a window of opportunity that has not yet been taken advantage of by the government.

An Uncertain Future

Colombia’s current drug policy represents a different approach in the fight against drug trafficking in the country: instead of attacking small growers, it targets international cocaine trafficking networks.

However, the policy has distanced itself from its initial substitution approach, arguing that these programs are limited, as they focus on short-term agreements and overlook structural aspects that are key to understanding and addressing the dependence of certain territories on illicit economies.

In response, debate has arisen around how coca production could be channeled toward legal uses for the coca leaf as an alternative to substitution. This has become one of the Petro government’s main policy priorities regarding coca cultivation.

At the end of 2023, the Colombian Agricultural Institute (Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario – ICA) approved the first license for organic fertilizer made from coca leaf, grown in the departments of Cauca and Huila. In addition, Indigenous, peasant, and Afro-Colombian organizations have used coca leaf in the production of food and beverages, fabric dyes, and fertilizers.

The creation of alternative economies is an important opportunity. A member of an international agency — who spoke to InSight Crime on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to comment on the issue — said that beyond substituting one crop for another, strategies can also focus on replacing illegal economies with legal ones, which can also help boost economic opportunities beyond agriculture.

However, they pointed out that, if the state fails to replace one economy with another, the vacuum will continue to be filled by criminal groups and illegal economies. This is already happening in some coca-growing territories where, faced with falling coca prices, growers have migrated to illegal mining, an illicit economy that is making millions in profits for criminal groups.

This article, written by Alicia Florez and Sara Garcia, was originally published by InSight Crime, a Medellín-based foundation dedicated to the investigation and analysis of crime and security in Colombia and Latin America.

The rules, which were given the green light by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on August 14, include a series of regulations designed to ensure sanitation standards and minimize the risk of introducing pests into the United States, including the avocado seed weevil, pink hibiscus mealybug, and avocado seed moth.

The U.S. avocado market has grown astronomically in recent years. In 2016, the country imported 2.2 billion pounds of avocados — double the amount in 2011.

In an interview with Finance Colombia, William Wepsala, a spokesman for the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, confirmed that the rules have gone into effect and that permits are expected to take around 30 days to process. “That means that Colombian growers will then be able to apply for permits to import into the United States,” said Wepsala. “The permits will verify that the growers are in compliance with the rules.”

Though the rules are in place, Colombia growers won’t likely be able to take a significant bite out of the U.S. market this year, according to Esteban Meneses, director of supply and certification at Hass Colombia, an association of Hass avocado growers based in the Colombian department of Antioquia that represents more than 50 growers whose main export markets include the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Scandinavian countries.

“It’s probable that this year we’ll be sending some sample containers [to the United States],” Meneses told Finance Colombia. “But it will probably be two years before we see shipments on a regular basis.”

The Logistics of Exporting Avocados

The agreement to allow Colombian avocados into the United States, following a lengthy formal clearance process that began last year, was officially confirmed by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence during his visit to Cartagena last month. The news was a long time coming: Pence’s announcement was the culmination of more than 10 years of agricultural negotiations between the two countries, MinCIT said in a statement.

Colombian growers who wish to export to the United States must register with the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA), the department of the Colombian Ministry of Agriculture charged with ensuring compliance with the export agreement. Currently, 58 producers of Hass avocados, by far the most popular variety consumed in the enormous U.S. market, are registered with ICA, according to the Ministry of Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism (MinCIT).

ICA representatives must inspect avocado production areas and packing facilities monthly, starting “at least two months before harvest and continuing until the end of the shipping season,” according to the regulations. The packing facilities are required to package the fruit in insect-proof packaging within 24 hours of being harvested. If a facility is an area of the country that has not been declared free of pests, it must have a one kilometer “buffer zone” around its perimeter. ICA must then monitor and take samples in the facility and buffer zone to ensure no pests are present.

Avocados as an Agricultural Boom for Colombia

The move by Washington to allows imports from Colombia has been touted as a win/win scenario for Colombian growers and U.S. consumers.

The Colombian government, which passed a revised peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in December that ended 52 years of conflict, is looking to ramp up agricultural production in the country’s new “post-conflict” era.

“It’s probable that this year we’ll be sending some sample containers [to the United States]. But it will probably be two years before we see shipments on a regular basis.” – Esteban Meneses of Hass Colombia

The idea is that rural areas long plagued by violence and lacking development will now find new levels of stability and farmers can lead an agribusiness boom.

President Juan Manuel Santos believes that avocado farming can create “thousands of jobs.” In December, during an address in front of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Colombian head of state said that peace “benefits the world on many fronts, and one of them is food security and agricultural development.”

He added that, “our countryside also was a victim of the armed conflict that diminished productivity in the rural sector, increased the social gap with urban areas, and deepened the iniquities in our country.”

The U.S. market for avocados dwarfs every that of other country, and its rapid growth shows little sign of stopping. If Colombian growers can export avocados to the United States in large quantities, the economic potential is vast. (Chart via USDA)

Competing with Mexican Avocados

The United States, on the other hand, estimates that injecting Colombian avocados into the market could stabilize or lower prices if the volume is high enough. Currently, Mexico dominates the U.S. market, providing 77% of the avocado supply in 2016, according to the Hass Avocado Board, a California-based group that promotes and tracks the consumption of Hass avocados in the country. Much of the rest of the U.S. supply comes from California.

Combined, according to data from the Hass Avocado Board, Mexico and California were responsible for 93% of the U.S. avocado supply in 2016. This is largest percentage seen in recent years as the trend of only having two supply sources has continued to grow as imports from Chile have waned. In 2011, for example, Mexico and California combined for 84.5%, but that number was just 75% inIn 2007, with Chile supplying 24%.

Avocado producers in Mexico also have become increasingly dependent on U.S. consumption. Nearly 77% of the country’s avocado exports went to the United States in 2016 — up from 30% in 2002, according to data from the Mexican Secretariat of Economy.

But in 2016, a drop in supply due to a growers’ strike in Mexico, compounded by drought and reduced yields in California caused prices to spike. The cost of a single avocado reached $1.44 USD during the third quarter of last year. The average price between September and November was $1.25 USD — some 22% higher than the costs seen during the rest of the year.

Though the surge has since eased, the price of non-organic Hass avocados jumped again this year, rising from $0.89 USD per avocado to $1.17 USD between January and June of this year.

Peace “benefits the world on many fronts, and one of them is food security and agricultural development.” – Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos

The USDA estimates that Colombian avocados could lower prices. “Colombia is expected to export between 8,000 to 12,000 metric tons of fresh Hass avocado fruit, with 10,000 metric tons being most likely,” stated the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. “If the United States were to import between 10,000 and 12,000 metric tons of fresh Hass avocado fruit, considering a 20% displacement of fresh Hass avocado fruit imports from other sources, the decline in avocado prices may range from 1% to 1.5%.”

The Market for Colombian Avocados Is Global

Though bringing the massive U.S. market into the fold could be an unprecedented boon for Colombian growers, many other countries are already ramping up their imports.

Colombia has seen its annual avocado exports skyrocket in recent years, from a paltry $5,700 USD in 2007 to over $35 million USD in 2016, according to data obtained from ProColombia, a government organization that promotes exports and foreign investment. And the trend continues: Avocado exports also increased 9.9% during the first quarter of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016.

Currently, the Netherlands is the top destination for Colombian avocados, representing 40% of all exports of the fruit in 2016. Though it is a fraction of the colossal U.S. market, the Netherlands was the second-largest importer of avocados in the world in 2016, according to Statistics Netherlands, a department within the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The Netherlands, however, is primarily a “re-export” market, meaning that the Dutch turn around and export much of the fruit to other European countries. Of the 185 million kilograms of avocados the Dutch imported in 2016, nearly 79% were re-exported, according to Statistics Netherlands. The top destinations for the re-exported avocados are Germany, France, and Scandinavia. Colombia was tied with Israel as the eighth largest exporter of avocados to the Netherlands in 2016.

Capitalizing on the Avocado Craze

Though Colombian growers have doubled the volume of avocados exported to the Netherlands every year since 2013, the U.S. market has proven elusive for Colombian growers. Only four avocado shipments were sent to its North American ally between January 2007 and March 2017, according to data collected from shipping manifests.

The U.S. market has grown astronomically in recent years. In 2016, the country imported 2.2 billion pounds of avocados — double the amount in 2011, according to the Hass Avocado Board.

The average U.S. consumes nearly seven pounds of avocados in a given year, according to the Agricultural Resource Marketing Center. The rise of guacamole as a snack staple has helped spur the jump in consumption, with the Hass Avocado Board estimating that 104.9 million pounds of avocados were consumed this year on Super Bowl Sunday alone.

The market has also grown due to the supposed health benefits of avocados, a fruit that has been branded as a “superfood” by some. The U.S. National Library of Medicine says preliminary data shows that the fruit’s properties and nutrients could help reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease.

The Hass Avocado Board estimates that 104.9 million pounds of avocados were consumed this year on Super Bowl Sunday alone.

But the avocado craze is not limited to the United States. Earlier this year, an avocado-based restaurant opened in Amsterdam, featuring a €15 burger with “avocado buns” and an avocado and chocolate smoothie.

Apparently, there are some downsides. In the United Kingdom, the growth in popularity has reportedly led to an increase in people injuring themselves attempting to cut open the fruit with a knife, according to the British Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (BAPRAS). Plastic surgeon Simon Eccles told the BBC in May that he treats “about four patients a week” in London for avocado-related injuries. His staff now even has a name for the wound: avocado hand.

“While BAPRAS hasn’t specifically called for safety labels on avocados, we are naturally concerned about the increasing number of avocado-related injuries recorded and would like to remind people to take a common sense approach to avoid injuries,” the organization said in a statement.

Whatever the reason for the avocado craze, the Colombian government is striving to put Colombian avocados on dinner tables around the world. And officials have now overcome the biggest hurdle in clearing the red tape to enter the U.S. market.

Now, it will be up to avocado growers in Colombia to expand production. If successful, they can become the earliest success story in the country’s hope for a post-conflict agro-boom and at the same time help feed the seemingly insatiable avocado consumers in the United States.