Colombia considered the Mexican market as a new destination for their flowers, reported newspaper El Espectador on Friday.
As part of their plan to diversify Colombia’s flower exportation in the face of rising import tariffs in the United States, Colombia looks to Mexico and other countries as potential destinations for their flowers, despite the fact that Mexico also cultivates many flowers for exportation.
Augusto Solano Mejia, president of the Colombian Association of Flower Exporters (Asocolflores), revealed Friday that he is interested in exploring the possibilities, stating “Mexico is a huge producer of flowers, but the idea is to look for a niche market.”
However, Colombian exporters will have to further research the idea, due to the fact that Mexico already has a commercial contract with the United States. Solano told reporters that the main argument for Mexico to import Colombian flowers such as roses, carnations, and chrysanthemums, is their high quality.
However, Solano considers the most urgent priority is to take advantage of the new FTA with Canada and begin exporting to North American country. He also stressed the importance of maintaining markets abroad in Japan and Russia, with the possibility of expanding to Poland. The president added that Colombia has not fully explored the Mexican market, which he believes has the potential to receive “fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers” from Colombia.
According to the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), Colombia exported $753.6 billion dollars worth of flowers between January and June of 2011.