Colombia aspires to export up to 40 million eggs to Cuba by 2024, and states that the island has become its "natural market in the Caribbean."
The president of the National Federation of Poultry Farmers of Colombia (Fenavi), Gonzalo Moreno, reported that the country exported seven million eggs to the island since March 12, but the number could reach 40 million by the end of 2024.
"The island has become a natural market for Colombia," said the official, quoted by the Cuban state-run news agency Prensa Latina.
Moreno highlighted that this has been possible due to the "geographical proximity and competitiveness in price and quality."
When speaking at the Corferias exhibition center in Bogotá, within the framework of the 21st Fenavi Congress, he explained that they are exploring export opportunities to other Caribbean countries, but "Cuba is now the main market."
He said that they plan to "export liquid egg" for industrial processes such as baking, and that "a first refrigerated container, for testing, will be sent soon."
Colombia produces 50 million eggs in just one day. The eggs sent to the island are dispatched from the port of Cartagena, in the north of the country.
Last December, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) announced in a statement that they would soon begin exporting fresh eggs to Cuba, after completing negotiations with the National Center of Animal Health (CNA) on the island, which finally gave the green light to the purchase.
"We are pleased to announce this important news for the poultry sector, which will bring great benefits to the national economy, job creation, and the transformation of the Colombian countryside," said Juan Fernando Roa, general manager of the ICA on that occasion.
On March 12, Cuba received two containers with the first eggs from Colombia, in an unprecedented shipment between both countries that was made possible thanks to an agreement established at the Havana International Fair (Fihav).
That first shipment was two 40-foot containers, which equate to 518,400 eggs.
In Cuba, eggs have become a luxury food for residents in the Caribbean nation. A carton of 30 eggs costs 3500 Cuban pesos, more than a minimum wage.
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