Browse Data and Analysis

Colombia’s ethanol consumption in 2024 is projected to increase to 728 million liters, mainly owing to the government’s restored 10 percent ethanol mandate (E10). Heightened ethanol demand is expected to be met through imports, primarily from the United States, despite the countervailing duty on U.S. fuel ethanol.

This report outlines Colombia´s food and beverage market conditions and guides exporters on how to enter the market. In 2023 the United States exported $3.7 billion in agricultural products to Colombia, making it the 6th largest agricultural export market for the United States.

In MY 2024/2025, Colombian coffee production is anticipated to reach 12.4 million bags of green bean equivalent (GBE). However, the pace of production recovery is hindered by El Niño, which has led to increased rates of borer infestation and affected some crops.

In marketing year (MY) 2024/2025, Colombia's sugar production is forecast to remain unchanged from the previous MY at 2.25 million metric tons (MMT) owing in part to the onset of the El Niño phenomenon and its dry weather conditions in the second half of 2023.

Colombia is the largest South American market for U.S. agricultural products and the seventh-largest market for U.S. food and beverage exports globally. Since the U.S. – Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA) was implemented in 2012, U.S. agricultural exports have grown by more than 235 percent to a record $3.7 billion in 2023.

For marketing year (MY) October 2024 to September 2025, Post forecasts that Jamaica’s sugar production will decline to 34,000 metric tons (MT), in line with the steady decrease observed in the industry over recent years.

Colombia’s food and beverage industry decreased by two percent in 2023 due to stagnating economic growth.

In market year (MY) 2024/2025, Colombia’s corn production is forecast to decrease to 1.5 million metric tons (MMT) influenced by lower domestic corn prices and dissuading farmers from expanding corn cultivation.

In February 2024, U.S. exporters regained market access to the Colombian poultry market, valued at over $100 million annually.

On December 6, 2023, the Ministry of Health of Colombia issued Resolution 2056, by which it amended Colombian Resolution 2013 of 2020 (known as the “sodium rule”). This amendment allows for U.S. exporters to utilize self-declarations to certify compliance with maximum sodium levels in processed products.

This report seeks to provide an initial road map for U.S. companies exporting food products to Colombia. In 2022, the United States exported $3.7 billion in agricultural products to Colombia, which secured its position as Colombia’s top supplier of food and agricultural products.

In October 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Plant and Animal Health Inspection Service and the Colombian Institute for Agriculture agreed on import requirements for U.S. bovine meat and bone meal (MBM) to Colombia. Colombia’s steady economy growth, increasing production of proteins, and growing demand for high quality pet food are creating new opportunities to increase exports of MBM products to the country.