We talked to an entrepreneur in the sector about benefits for the farmer with the marketing of processed potatoes.
Colombia barely processes 20% of the potatoes it produces, a figure that may be lower in times of over-offer of the product such as the one being lived, leading to part of the crop being lost or to be marketed at low prices.
He agreed that the percentage of potatoes processed in the country is low, there is room to increase it, although more incentives are needed for the business sector to increase production and consumers to acquire more pre-cooked and frozen potatoes. It is a topic of concepts; if the potato is no longer seen as a product of immediate consumption, things are going to change a lot, Páez Castro said.
He insisted that in Colombia 80% of potato production is directed towards immediate consumption. If the figure is increased towards the industrial sector, where it is generated an added value and the service life is increased, we will have the capacity to serve all the offer that is given at a certain time, he added.
He regretted, however, that domestic industry had been detrimental to some policies that have favored the importation of these products.
Businessman Luis Albin Páez Castro also highlighted the good relationship of entrepreneurs with their suppliers. We depend directly on agro, the idea is to have the best possible relationship. We try to make the farmer feel compensated in his prices, which ensures that we have enough raw materials going forward, he said.
He emphasized that the Colombian industry processes potatoes from Boyacá, Cundinamarca and Nariño, not only for traditional forms of precocidal potatoes, but also for flours, starches and others.
