Colombian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Rodolfo Zea Navarro will be visiting the Colombia Pavilion during the ‘Food, Agriculture, and Livelihood Week’ which is running from February 21-26, 2022, at Expo 2020 Dubai.
During his visit, the minister will engage with various investors and retailers to discuss new partnership opportunities with UAE regarding Colombia’s agricultural potential. During the Food, Agriculture, and Livelihood Week, Colombia Pavilion will display the nation’s variety of agricultural produce for visitors to explore and learn more about.
Minister Zea will also hold a meeting with the UAE’s Minister of Climate Change Mariam Almheiri to discuss food safety issues. He will also be attending the summit and Expo ‘Food for future’ that brings together like-minded leaders from around the world to explore innovative ways of advancing the global transition to sustainable food systems.
During him visit at the Colombia Pavilion he will host the forum ‘Colombia: a global food supplier’, where Colombian companies such as Daboon, Nutresa, Fedecacao, Exotic Coffee, Asobúfalos will also be participating.
Colombia’s advantageous geographic position allows for steady crop production throughout the year. The country’s climate, coupled with the high consumption rates of food and sustainable growth techniques make it ideal for prospective investments and business opportunities, especially in the agriculture sector. The country has been declared one amongst the seven leading pantries of the world.
The agricultural sector in Colombia is one of the pillars of the local economy as it is responsible for the creation of many job opportunities in the region. The country has a reputation for diverse, flavorful harvest that is sustainably produced, and is a leading producer of fruits, vegetables, sugar, cocoa, meat and seafood, and dairy products, among others.
Currently, Colombia has many investment projects directed towards enhancing their food and beverages sector. They have developed technologically improved forest plantations that can be developed in a sustainable manner, resulting in more than 14 million hectares that will make for sustainable commercial forest farming.
The country is especially known for its coffee and cacao production. Colombian cacao is in high demand both locally and internationally. Almost 90 per cent of the national production is allocated to the ever-growing domestic market and have been rated ‘fine flavor’ by the International Cacao Organization. Colombia is known for producing mild, well-balanced coffee beans and its average annual coffee production of 11.5 million bags is the third highest in the world, after Brazil and Vietnam, though highest in terms of the arabica bean. The beans are exported all over the world to countries like the United States, Germany, France, Japan, and Italy.
