Four years after Gustavo Petro took office, Colombia is a different country from the one he inherited in August 2022, but it continues to face some of its deepest historical problems: inequality, violence, drug trafficking, illegal economies, corruption and the state’s limited ability to exercise control over large parts of the country.

Petro came to power with an ambitious promise: to transform the country. His election represented a historic change in itself. For the first time, a leader from the left reached the presidency, and social sectors traditionally distant from power gained direct representation in the executive branch.

Four years later, just as the self-described “Gobierno del Cambio” (Government of Change) comes to an end, the record is mixed. Petro leaves behind measurable social progress, a broader political spectrum capable of competing for power and significant reforms in labor and politics. But he also leaves unfinished projects, a peace policy that failed to achieve its objectives, a persistent crisis in the health care system, corruption scandals, and an administration marked by high ministerial turnover.

Perhaps his deepest legacy lies not in any specific reform, but in demonstrating that Colombian democracy could incorporate sectors that had remained on the margins of power for decades without altering the system of checks and balances that underpins the country’s democratic processes.

The main achievement: A broader democracy

Petro’s election in 2022 was the culmination of a political process Colombia had been experiencing for decades: the gradual expansion of the ideological spectrum with a realistic chance of reaching the presidency.

Francia Márquez‘s rise to the vice presidency carried equally profound significance. A Black woman from a region historically affected by poverty and conflict, her election became a symbol of political mobility and representation in a country where economic and social elites have traditionally dominated the main centers of power.

Márquez built part of her political discourse around the “nadies” (nobodies), an expression intended to champion historically excluded communities. Petro incorporated that narrative during his term and embraced political and social inclusion as one of the defining elements of his administration.

From that perspective, regardless of how its public policies are evaluated, the Petro administration leaves behind a broader democracy: after 2022, Colombia demonstrated that ideological, social, ethnic and regional groups previously distant from presidential power could also reach the Casa de Nariño. It was a necessary message for a country whose guerrilla movements emerged partly in response to the traditional two-party system of the last century.

Paradoxically, that expansion coexisted with an often-conflictive relationship between the president and some of the institutions designed precisely to limit the exercise of power.

At various points, Petro challenged Congress, the courts, the Banco de la República, the media and sectors of the opposition when their decisions stood in the way of parts of his agenda. Those checks, however, are not an anomaly in Colombia’s political system but one of its structural components: the system of checks and balances.

Incoming President Abelardo de la Espriella will likely face a similar reality. Without his own majorities in Congress, his ability to govern will also depend on negotiations, judicial oversight and institutional limits that no president can eliminate simply by winning an election.

Francia Márquez during her inauguration as vice president of Colombia at Plaza de Bolívar in Bogotá on August 7, 2022. Photo courtesy of the Presidency of Colombia.

Less poverty, more employment and higher wages

On social issues, several indicators improved during the Petro administration.

In 2025, according to figures from the Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística, or DANE, monetary poverty fell to 28%, the lowest level recorded in the country up to that point. Petro had taken office in 2022, when the rate stood at 36.6% following the sharp increase caused by the pandemic.

During the first three years of his administration, about 3.8 million people moved out of monetary poverty and nearly 1 million escaped extreme poverty, according to official DANE figures.

The labor market also improved. Unemployment, which stood at around 11.3% in 2022, fell to about 8% during the first months of 2026.

Petro also ended his term with a 23% increase in the minimum wage for 2026, far above inflation, which closed 2025 at 5.1%. The measure directly benefited about 2.5 million workers and their families and reflected one of the president’s most consistent political priorities: improving workers’ incomes and conditions.

The labor reform moved in the same direction, increasing the amount employers must pay for nighttime, Sunday and holiday work: one of the country’s long-standing labor policy shortcomings.

Those results allow the outgoing government to argue that part of its redistributive agenda produced tangible effects, even though Colombia remains a deeply unequal society.

Reforms that advanced and those left halfway

The record of Petro’s major structural reforms is considerably more complex.

Agrarian reform, one of his central campaign promises, fell far short of its goals. Petro had proposed purchasing 1.5 million hectares of land for distribution to farmers and advancing the formalization of 7 million hectares envisioned under the Peace Agreement.

According to figures from the Ministry of Agriculture, more than 462,000 hectares had been purchased by mid-2026, less than one-third of the announced target.

On pensions, the government succeeded in getting Congress to approve an overhaul of the system that replaced competition between public and private regimes with a system based on a public foundation and additional savings mechanisms administered by private entities. To secure its passage, the executive branch had to compromise on some of its original objectives. The reform was subsequently challenged in court, and its implementation was suspended while the Constitutional Court reviewed the legislative process, which remains unresolved in the absence of a final ruling from the court.

Colombia’s institutional system thus once again demonstrated the limits any president faces when attempting to implement structural transformations without sufficiently broad political consensus.

“Total Peace”, one of the administration’s biggest defeats

If there was one area where results fell particularly far short of initial expectations, it was security policy and the so-called “Total Peace” initiative.

Petro came to power proposing simultaneous negotiations with different armed organizations to reduce violence and move toward resolving the conflicts that persisted after the 2016 agreement with the FARC.

Four years later, his government ended without reaching a final agreement with the main armed groups with which it had opened negotiations.

During that period, organizations such as the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), and the Clan del Golfo maintained or expanded their operational capacity in different territories, while the country continued to record kidnappings, recruitment of minors, attacks and killings of social and political leaders.

Political violence reached one of its most serious moments with the killing of presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe, an event that reminded the country of the dangers of political violence that Colombia had believed it had left behind.

The failure of Total Peace to produce sustainable agreements will likely be one of the most difficult aspects of the outgoing president’s legacy to defend.

A health care transformation that never came

Petro also failed to transform the health care system on the terms he had proposed during the campaign.

The reform became one of the main battlegrounds among the executive branch, Congress, insurers, health care providers and different political sectors.

As that dispute continued, patient petitions, complaints and claims increased from about 915,000 in 2021 to 2.1 million in 2025, according to figures from the Superintendencia Nacional de Salud.

By the end of the administration, many patients continued to report difficulties obtaining medications and receiving timely care at hospitals and clinics, while household out-of-pocket spending on health care increased.

Petro profoundly altered the debate over Colombia’s health care model, but he failed to replace it with the system he had promised.

Corruption undermined one of Petro’s central promises

Perhaps one of the government’s most politically costly contradictions was corruption.

Petro had built much of his political career denouncing links among corruption, public contracting, and traditional power structures. His arrival at the presidency came with a promise to govern differently.

His administration, however, ended up being affected by several scandals.

The most significant involved the Unidad Nacional para la Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres (UNGRD), in which investigations pointed to the alleged use of public resources and contracts to benefit members of Congress in exchange for support for government initiatives.

The instability caused by the legal troubles surrounding Ricardo Roa, who headed the country’s most important oil and gas company, also had a profound economic impact, eroding both the company’s market value and the governance of one of the institutions underpinning the national economy.

Those controversies were compounded by investigations and disputes involving members of the president’s political and family circle. His son, Nicolás Petro, faced criminal proceedings related to funds received during the campaign, while Verónica Alcocer, then the president’s wife, remains at the center of questions over the use of public funds.

Determining individual responsibility is a matter for judicial and oversight authorities, but politically, the cases eroded one of the central elements of the message that had brought Petro to power.

More than 60 ministers in four years

Administrative instability also became a defining feature of the government. Over four years, more than 60 people served across 18 ministries, equivalent to an average of more than three officeholders per ministry.

The changes reflected political crises, disagreements within the governing coalition, differences between ministers and the president, shifts in the executive branch’s priorities and, at various points, difficulties maintaining a stable administrative course.

The result was a government with considerable rhetorical ability to place issues on the public agenda, but greater difficulty turning some of those debates into sustained policies over its four years in office.

Congresswoman María José Pizarro places the presidential sash on Gustavo Petro during his inauguration at Plaza de Bolívar in Bogotá on August 7, 2022. Photo courtesy of the Presidency of Colombia.

Petro changed who can govern, but not the rules of power

Gustavo Petro’s legacy can hardly be reduced to a simple choice between success and failure.

His administration produced tangible social results and expanded the boundaries of political representation in Colombia. It also put issues on the agenda that will likely remain part of the debate under future governments: inequality, the energy transition, agrarian reform, the functioning of the health care system, and representation for historically excluded populations.

But the promise of structural transformation was far broader than the results ultimately achieved.

Petro discovered, as his predecessors did and as De la Espriella probably will, that winning the presidency does not mean controlling the Colombian state. Congress, the courts, oversight agencies, the Banco de la República, regional governments, the media and a deeply polarized civil society impose limits on any political project.

Petro discovered, as his predecessors did and as De la Espriella probably will, that winning the presidency does not mean controlling the Colombian state. Congress, the courts, oversight agencies, the Banco de la República, regional governments, the media and a deeply polarized civil society impose limits on any political project.

In that sense, the main transformation of these four years may have been less institutional than democratic: Petro did not completely change the way Colombia works, but he did help change the idea of who can govern it.

De la Espriella’s arrival at the presidency from the opposite end of the ideological spectrum is, paradoxically, another manifestation of that expansion.

Colombia thus ends four years of its first left-wing government and begins its first far-right government. What remains between the two is a democracy with more diverse political alternatives, but one that is also deeply polarized, with institutions under intense strain and many of the country’s historical problems still unresolved.

“I have requested the protocolary resignation of ministers and directors of administrative departments. There will be some changes in the cabinet to ensure greater compliance with the program mandated by the people,” wrote the president.

This request follows the tensions caused by a televised cabinet meeting on February 4, which exposed internal disagreements among government officials and particular discomfort with the involvement in the government of Laura Sarabia, a key figure in Petro’s team and recently appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as the newly appointed Chief of Staff, Armando Benedetti.

Following this event, several ministers and officials submitted their resignation letter before Petro made his official request on February 9, including Gloria Inés Ramírez, Minister of Labor; Juan David Correa, Minister of Culture; and Juan Fernando Cristo, Minister of the Interior. In his resignation letter, Cristo thanked Petro for the opportunity to be part of the government and emphasized the need to prioritize key commitments in the remaining 18 months of the administration.

Jorge Rojas, Director of the Presidential Administrative Department (DAPRE), and Susana Muhamad, Minister of Environment, also resigned. In an interview with El Tiempo, Muhamad stated that her resignation was motivated by Armando Benedetti’s appointment as Chief of Staff. She expressed concerns about his political representation and the trust needed for governance, saying, “He does not inspire confidence in me, personally, both in terms of political representation and in the trust necessary to govern within the Council of Ministers.”

After Petro’s February 9 announcement, additional officials submitted their protocolary resignations. Carlos Carrillo, Director of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) announced his resignation via X/Twitter, motivating their colleagues to also proceed: “I believe that the entire cabinet and high-ranking government officials should submit their resignations without delay.”

In a post via Twitter/X Laura Sarabia confirmed her resignation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, position she held for just a few days: “With the purpose of allowing the president to make the decisions he deems most appropriate, I submit my protocolary resignation, ” she pointed.

Among the officials that have also resigned are: Andrés Camacho, Minister of Mine; Ángela María Buitrago, Minister of Justice; Martha Carvajalino, Minister of Agriculture; and Daniel Rojas Medellín, Minister of Education.

Headline photo: Image from the televised cabinet meeting on February 4 (Photo: Presidencia de la República)

Agromatch Generates $6 Million in Business Potential

Agromatch, Expo Agrofuturo’s business matchmaking platform, brought together 251 exhibitors and 60 buyers from countries including Argentina, Aruba, Colombia, Curacao, Ecuador, Slovenia, the United States, Guatemala, Panama, and Venezuela. The platform facilitated 524 meetings among participants, with reported business expectations totaling approximately $6.16 million. This year, exhibitors included 94 representatives from Colombia’s Ministry of Agriculture, underscoring the event’s focus on small and medium-sized producers.

Expo Agrofuturo’s 18th edition is scheduled to be held in Medellín from September 10 to 12, 2025.

Broad Regional and International Participation

Expo Agrofuturo’s exhibitors showcased a variety of products and services ranging from crop varieties, fertilizers, and machinery to transportation and logistical solutions. Representatives from Colombia’s diverse regions, including  and Cundinamarca, displayed products highlighting the country’s agricultural diversity.

International representation included notable participation from Chile, which showcased its agricultural export strength and expertise in fruit and vegetable production, a sector that generates significant revenue as the country’s leading non-copper export category. According to ProChile, Chile’s agricultural exports span 970 products, reaching over 170 destinations, with the United States, China, and Japan as primary markets. Poland and other countries, including China, Argentina, France, the Netherlands, the United States, Peru, and Uruguay, also participated, reflecting ongoing interest in accessing Colombian agricultural markets.

Casanare: Featured Region

Casanare participated as the featured region this year, bringing 20 exhibitors focused on the region’s food processing innovations. “We aim to promote sustainable development in the region through initiatives in cacao, coffee, and other agricultural transformations,” stated Casanare Governor César Ortiz Zorro. Exhibits from the region included automated fertigation systems powered by wind and solar energy, hybrid water extraction technologies, and a range of tropical fruit-based snacks.

Technology and Knowledge Exchange Through FIXA and Agrotalks

The event’s technology focus was highlighted through the display of agricultural drones, advanced machinery, and applications designed to streamline farm management. According to Agrilink co-founder Ricardo Jaramillo, digital tools and artificial intelligence are playing an increasing role in aiding farmers with planting schedules and productivity decisions.

Agrotalks, Expo Agrofuturo’s educational component, provided 1,900 attendees with insights from more than 60 speakers on topics such as sustainability, climate change, biotechnology, soil care, and the role of technology in agriculture. Agrotalks hosted sessions at three different venues within Corferias, with significant contributions from exhibitors, including representatives from Colombia’s rural development-focused Utopía Project.

Additionally, the Forum for Innovation in Agrofuturo (FIXA) hosted 505 attendees and presented discussions on livestock and agriculture, featuring international representatives who examined global agricultural advancements and challenges.

Exhibitor Feedback on Expo Agrofuturo 2024

Several exhibitors shared positive feedback on their experience at the event. Andrés Ramírez of BJ Agriculture highlighted a 200% growth in sales compared to previous years, noting the presence of a well-targeted and informed audience. Miguel Ángel Chávez of Cimecol S.A.S. and Adriana Afanador, manager of Proplantas S.A., also commented on the event’s business-oriented atmosphere, reporting positive sales outcomes and increased interest in Colombian agribusiness.

Expo Agrofuturo’s 18th edition is scheduled to be held in Medellín from September 10 to 12, 2025, continuing its role as a hub for agricultural innovation and business development in the region.

Expo Agrofuturo’s 18th edition is scheduled to be held in Medellín from September 10 to 12, 2025 (photo: Corferias).

Photos courtesy Corferias

From January to July 2024, total imports reached USD 5.31 billion, a 6.1% decrease compared to 2023. Significant reductions were seen in corn (-23.4%) and soybean meal (-27.2%). The sector’s total import volume for July also fell by 13.2%, reaching 896,751 tons, with corn and wheat leading the decline.

Dora Inés Rey, director of the Unidad de Planificación Rural Agropecuaria (UPRA), defended the numbers and her administration, saying that the reduction in import value reflects increased efficiency in local production chains and the implementation of policies promoting domestic consumption of agricultural products.

However, from January to July 2024, there was a 7% rise in import volume, reaching 8.63 million tons, driven by increases in corn (7.8%), ethanol (162.8%), and wheat (12.4%).

In terms of the trade balance, Colombia posted a value surplus of USD 1.6 billion FOB between January and July 2024, a 105.1% increase from the previous year. Despite this, the country recorded a volume deficit of 5.26 million tons, a 1.7% increase over the same period in 2023.

For more details, visit the MinAgricultura website.

Above image of Colombia’s signature chicken and potato soup called Ajiaco by Loren Moss

Banana exports, which grew by $66.6 million USD year over year, showed the largest growth (100.3%) followed by coffee (up by $48 million USD and 22.7%) and flowers (up $32.2 million USD and 22.4%).

In terms of volume, April exports of agricultural and agro-industrial products reached 549,775 tons, a jump of 38% compared to April 2023.

“The increase in exports of key products, such as bananas, coffee, or flowers, demonstrates the strength and potential of the Colombian agricultural sector,” said Claudia Cortés, director of the Rural Agricultural Planning Unit (UPRA).

“We are committed to continuing to support our producers to maintain this positive trend and explore new opportunities in international markets.”

The uptick in April continues a trend that has been ongoing throughout the year.

Overall, in the first four months of the year, agricultural exports are up 8.5% in value compared to the same period 2023, reaching a total of $3.6 billion USD and 1.94 million tons of products.

“These results reflect the dynamism and resilience of the Colombian agricultural sector, highlighting its ability to adapt and grow in a competitive global environment,” said Cortés.

The health protocol was required by Beijing regulators so that Colombia “regain the status” of a country free of foot-and-mouth disease across a vaccinated cattle population.

While the approval represents a major step in this process, in practical terms, remains unclear exactly when companies will be permitted. The Ministry of Agriculture said the news “will accelerate the process of admissibility of Colombian beef to China.”

A statement released today by Minerva S.A., a company that maintains a major presence in the South American beef market, suggests that it expects to be able to start making shipments soon. This latest development leaves “only the bureaucratic procedures to effectively enable Colombian production units and final authorization to begin exports,” stated Minerva.

Minerva S.A. has two production plants in Colombia in Bucaramanga and Ciénaga de Oro. Once the approval is final, it says that these locations “will join Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, maximizing the exposure and our arbitration capacity for the Chinese market.”

It noted that, according to Minerva, China “was responsible for importing” some 3,502 thousand tons of beef in 2022.

In its statement, the Ministry of Agriculture characterized this as a “great achievement” by Minister of Agriculture Jhenifer Mojica, who has been on a diplomatic visit to China, a nation it notes is the world’s leading importer of frozen beef and on track to hit an average meat consumption of 10 kilograms per person by 2030.

The ministry added that Chinese officials have also agreed to a technical visit that will work toward the admissibility of other agricultural products from Colombian companies, such as meat pork and Tahiti lemon.

Photo: Colombian beef cooked in Bogotá. (Credit: Jared Wade)

At least 43 outbreak cases have been reported around the country, and the government has been scrambling to contain the outbreak of the bacterium Streptococcus aglactiae ST7 1a since it was detected within the waters of some tilapia crops inside the country starting in March 2023. 

The bacteria mostly affects tilapia and isn’t harmful or transferable to other species, according to experts. The National Agricultural Institute (ICA) describes its effects on tilapia as deadly due to a disease with the “main clinical signs include lethargy, erratic swimming, exophthalmia, skin, tail, and fin lesions, and death.”

Juan Fernando Roa, the manager of ICA, postulated that the bacteria may have entered the country through the irregular import of products that came from Mexico, though this has yet to be officially confirmed.

The institute, which has also declared a formal state of sanitary emergency, has reported that more than 40 tons of tilapia have been lost, with a tilapia mortality rate of 10% in Tolima, 12% in Huila, 37% in Magdalena, and 47% in Atlántico.

The National Aquaculture and Fisheries Authority (AUNAP) visited multiple fish markets in Bogotá, Ibagué, Neiva, and Barranquilla to reassure traders that the bacteria itself is not harmful to humans and that the proper steps are being taken to ensure the sanitary safety of the surviving fishes. 

“The message we share is one of calmness,” said Hernán David Rubio, director of AUNAP. He added that, “this health emergency was declared so that the government can implement prevention and containment measures in a timely manner, guaranteeing food security, as well as the feasibility of importing vaccines.”

It is unclear how significant the bacterium’s spread in Colombia could be, but government offices have reassured consumers that the fish that comes into the market after going through a strenuous process guarantees the “traceability, safety, and quality of the fishing product that reaches the table of Colombians.”

“We applaud the campaign of the Ministry of Agriculture and the accompaniment of AUNAP so that people do not panic, continue eating fish and continue eating healthy,” said Jhon Gutiérrez, president of the Marketers Cooperative of Plaza del Pescado in Barranquilla. 

The Supreme Court released the ruling, showing that for the charges of “contract crimes without compliance with legal requirements and embezzlement by appropriation,” they reaffirmed the “17 years 5 months and 8 days” sentence that Arias received in 2014 for his Agro Ingreso Seguro (AIS) scheme during his tenure as minister.

The  case against Arias largely revolves around irregularities in the contracts made for the AIS, with Arias giving irrigation and drainage contracts to connected businessmen in the agriculture industry without going through a public bidding process, as well as using his control of the projects in order to embezzle money for his own personal gain.

After being convicted of the crime in 2014, Arias’ defense team launched an appeal claiming that the AIS program’s collaboration with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation for the Portfolio of Agriculture (IICA) makes it a transfer of science and technology, allowing it to bypass the public bidding process, El Tiempo reported.

Arias fled to the US claiming political persecution but the US sent him back to Colombia to face his corruption charges.

Arias had fled to the United States in 2014 right as he was being convicted for the above charges, but he was extradited back to Colombia in 2019 upon the request of the Colombian government and after a US court stated that Arias could be extradited to serve his sentence.

Arias also claimed that, due to his political affiliation with the movement of former President and Senator Alvaro Uribe at the time, his more-than-17-year sentence was an attempt at political persecution, and that the case was pushed by former President Juan Manuel Santos to support his candidacy.

“Former President Juan Manuel Santos had a lot to do with my process, not only with how it ended, but with its beginnings. Of course, there was a lot of influence from President Santos, from his government, from the persecution, we have no doubt about that,” Arias claimed.

The Supreme Court reviewed this claim from Arias that, because of the science and technology component of the AIS program, it did not need to undergo a public bidding process like other projects typically would, but in the end, rejected the argument.

“According to the determination, it was proven that the aforementioned agreements did not conform to the legal presuppositions of Decrees 393 and 591 of 1991. While the cooperation provided by IICA did not represent the transfer of technology and innovation to the beneficiaries of the program, sufficient reason for its celebration to have been carried out through public bidding and not directly as it was done.”

Arias’ legal team also claimed that his role as Minister meant that his involvement in the said AIS contracts was minimal at best. However, the Supreme Court showed that Arias had responsibility as the Minister of Agriculture over the projects, and that he was responsible for the irregularities that the project had undergone.

“In the Court’s opinion, despite his influence over Ministry officials and the control he exercised from the beginning over the AIS program through this interference in the Administrative Committee, and despite knowing of the illegal division of properties from before October 2009, the former minister did nothing to prevent the appropriation of resources by individuals through such conduct.

Consequently, regarding the crime of embezzlement, the decision makes it clear that Arias’s responsibility lies in the control exercised over the Program Units, from which he received information and was aware of what was happening, therefore, the circumstance of the fact that no project has been rejected due to the false information provided shows his commitment to the appropriation of public resources by third parties.”

The Supreme Court continued, saying in their decision “that Arias Leiva had interfered with the Administrative Committee in charge of approving the lists sent by IICA of beneficiaries of AIS subsidies, in accordance with the terms of reference of the contracts to implement and develop the program. And if the Committee, in which the minister participated, was assigned that function, it is understandable that he could modify them and not be a simple validator of those lists.”

With regard to the claim of it being a transfer of science and technology, the Court said: “For the Chamber, in the trial, it was proven that an irrigation and drainage system for whoever adopts it, incorporates it or installs it in a productive project or modifies the existing one, is innovation or technology transfer. However, these AIS program agreements were aimed at calls to manage resources.

Arias has reportedly acquiesced to the decision of the Supreme Court in the matter, and will wait to find out how he will serve the remaining years of his sentence.

Such legislation takes a further step, building on last year’s Decree 811 creating a licensing scheme and legalizing export of commercial marijuana, after allowing its use for scientific and medical purposes in 2016 with Law 1787.

Signed February 20, the new law enables domestic production and marketing of non-psychoactive cannabis products, and further defines import and export rules.

“This resolution allows, defines and establishes all the mechanisms and procedures for the industrial use of the cannabis plant in sectors such as food, beverages, alcoholic beverages and dietary supplements, defining, of course, that these uses have to do with the non-psychoactive component,” said Colombian President Ivan Duque.

“There has already been progress in credits for small and medium-sized producers. These credits continue to be developed through the Agrarian Bank, where cannabis producers are also provided with all the issues of foreign exchange management, monetization and marketing from Colombia,” The president continued.

Colombian Health Minister Fernando Ruiz Gómez added that the regulation is important for the safe development of the legal cannabis industry, including oversight by Colombia’s food and drug regulatory agency INVIMA (Instituto Nacionál de Vigilancia de Medicamentos y Alimentos).

“The different sanitary provisions that must take place by INVIMA, with good manufacturing practices, and all labeling and packaging requirements, are fundamental for all the progress of the industry,” said Dr. Gómez.

“This opens the possibility, with the components of the cannabis plant and its non-psychoactive derivatives, of producing dietary supplements complementing the existing dietary supplements in Colombia, in order to advance in the entire process of supporting nutrition and support to people who require dietary supplements”.

Cannabis Industry Pleased

Bill Petron, CEO of PharmaCielo (TSXV: PCLO) (OTCQX: PCLOF), a Colombian cannabis producer with Toronto headquarters commented on the news, saying in a statement: “The passing of Regulation 227 is a historic development for the Colombian cannabis industry, opening the large and growing global dried flower market as well as multiple CBD-based opportunities, to Colombian producers. The Colombian government has consistently demonstrated its desire to build this industry into a global leader, and in our opinion the announcement makes Colombia the most export-friendly and competitive jurisdiction in the world.

Dried flower accounts for up to 50% market share in most mature cannabis markets globally and represents a massive opportunity both for the Colombian industry, and PharmaCielo. With scalable cultivation and processing capacity in place, a structural cost advantage, and the sophistication to ensure consistently high-quality products, PharmaCielo is positioned to capture market share against current international exports from markets like Canada.

The government’s revised approach to the quota system will both ensure speed to market, as well as greater efficiency throughout the sales process. We expect 2022 to be a very exciting year of growth for PharmaCielo, as we launch and expand dried flower exports, bringing global patients access to high quality, affordable medical cannabis products.”

Above photo: Wilson Ruiz Orejuela, Minister of Justice and Law, and Juan Gonzalo Botero, Deputy Minister of Agricultural Affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development join President Ivan Duque at the podium and health minister Dr. Fernando Ruíz Gómez announcing the legislation.

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