Agriculture
From The Report: Colombia 2014
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Despite lower international prices for some of Colombia’s key cash crops, the agriculture sector ended 2013 posting growth of 5.2%, higher than overall economic growth of 4.7%. Coffee’s 22.3% expansion made it the sector’s shining star in 2013. However, the various challenges the sector faces, in particular increased international competition as a result of a number of recent free trade agreements, led to a series of strikes involving multiple subsectors in the first half of 2013, which culminated with a large-scale national strike mid-year, placing agriculture centre-stage politically. The government of Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, re-elected for a second term in June 2014, has prioritised agricultural development and an increasing budget reflects the government’s commitment to revitalising the sector. Stable growth has continued into the first three months of 2014, with the sector expanding 6.1%. With the possibility of negotiating a peace agreement strengthened by the re-election of Santos, the next decade could see the sector play a more prominent role in the national economy.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Providing investment and support to key cash crops
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Decades of conflict, affecting primarily rural areas, have taken their toll on Colombia’s agricultural sector. High fragmentation and rural poverty have stifled large-scale investments and prevented productivity gains, while a deficient transport and infrastructure network add to domestic production costs. In recent years, increased global competition as a result of a number of new free trade agreements (FTA) has put further pressure on Colombia’s farmers, as lower global prices for some of its…

Analysis

Cacao production and exports on the rise
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With demand for cacao on the rise and a projected global deficit of 1m tonnes by 2020, according to the International Cacao Organisation (ICCO), cacao production in Colombia is set to receive special attention in the next few years. While the country currently accounts for only 1% of global cacao production, the potential for much higher growth is tremendous. To capitalise on it, the government and the private sector are joining forces and rolling out long-term strategies to increase production and…

Analysis

Changing dynamics: Bilateral trade agreements redefine local markets
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In recent years Colombia has signed a number of free trade agreements (FTA), significantly expanding its access to new markets across the globe. The most recent, with South Korea, was signed in February 2013 and has yet to come into force. The agricultural sector is particularly sensitive to new FTAs and fears of the negative impact increased international competition could have on the sector spurred large-scale Given that a number of these FTAs have been signed only in the past few years, evaluating…