(pangasius-vietnam.com) Colombia is a newly emerging economy in Latin America. The country possesses favourable business environment such as a clear legal framework, lower import tariffs compared to those of other countries in the region, transparent and accessible procesdures. This is an opened market which is ready to welcome international suppliers, including Vietnamese ones.
The right economic policies have been helping Colombia in developing its economy sustainably, while many other countries are struggling with global economic crisis impacts.
Currently, Colombia’s per-capita fish consumption is 6 kilogram/year. Colombian consumers are becoming more interested in seafood products from Vietnam, particularly pangasius, creating huge opportunities for Vietnamese exporters to enter this market. According to Vietnam Customs, through 15th May, 2013, pangasius exports to Colombia reached US$18.4 million.
Over the recent years, Colombia’s fish aquaculture has remained with annual growth of 6.7 percent but the production was still at a low level to cover the demand. Colombia Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that fish harvest represented 84 percent of national fish farming; the remainder was shrimp.
In 2011, Colombia produced 61,500 MT of fish species, including 48,000 MT of tilapia (78 percent), 3,000 MT of freshwater farmed salmon… Huila, Valle del Cauca, Tolima and Meta were centers of tilapia farming. Freshwater farmed salmon were mainly breeded in Antioquia, Cauca, Boyaca, Cundinamarca and Narino. Currently, Colombia’s main export item is frozen fish (HS0303) with a total export volume of 41,069 MT and a value of US$79.09 million in 2012.
In 2012, the country imported US$156.758 million of fish products (HS03), up 29.1 percent on that of 2011. In which, Vietnam was the largest supplier with US$47.523 million of import value, accounting for 30 percent. Vietnam is also the leading exporter of frozen fish fillets to Colombia with 16,545 MT and a value of US$37.988 million in 2012.
In 2012 Colombia purchased mostly frozen fish products (HS0303), imports value totaled USS$66.259 million, up 46.4 percent over the previous year. Frozen fillets (HS0304) ranked second with US$65.066 million, up 18.55 percent from 2011; of which frozen pangasius fillets were 8,461 MT.
So far, international investors are turning their attention to Colombia rather than to Brazil, Mexico and Chile like they did in the past years. With a young population and a rapid and high growth, Colombia is becoming a “new economic tiger” of Latin America with an expected steady growth in the coming years. Therefore, there is a great opportunity, for Vietnamese seafood products and for pangasius, to develop in this market in the future.
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Top 10 fish suppliers to Colombia, US$ mil.
Source: ITC
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No.
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Origin
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2008
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2009
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2010
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2011
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2012
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|
1
|
Vietnam
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6.918
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10.703
|
22.493
|
40.328
|
47.523
|
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2
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Chile
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12.881
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15.163
|
15.406
|
19.525
|
20.860
|
|
3
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Ecuador
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12.965
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13.880
|
13.604
|
14.528
|
19.104
|
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4
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Senegal
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0
|
0
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0
|
1.345
|
11.321
|
|
5
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South Africa
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0
|
0
|
0
|
3.348
|
10.285
|
|
6
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China
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2.931
|
1.975
|
4.942
|
7.190
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10.267
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7
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Argentina
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8.728
|
8.995
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10.363
|
9.416
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8.401
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8
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Uruguay
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1.915
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1.976
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1.442
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3.157
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4.628
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|
9
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Trinidad & Tobago
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3.482
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13.272
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11.590
|
9.361
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3.301
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10
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Namibia
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0
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0.778
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0.471
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0.885
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2.899
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