Colombia officially expanded its portfolio of international markets for poultry products with the recent admissibility of chicken meat in the United Arab Emirates, one of the most relevant destinations in importation of food in the Middle East.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Laura Sarabia, who stressed that this country represents an annual demand of more than 280,000 tons of chicken.
“Good news! Colombia achieves the admissibility of the Colombian chicken in the United Arab Emirates, a market that imports more than 280 thousand tons per year,” the official wrote.
The new sanitary access constitutes a strategic advance for the Colombian poultry sector, which in 2024 produced about 1.8 million tons of chicken meat and 18,000 million eggsconsolidating as one of the agro -industrial activities with the highest productive volume in the country.
The National Federation of Poultry farmers of Colombia (Fenavi) has reported that, until May of this year, chicken exports increased significantly, with 100 additional containers dispatched compared to the same period of 2023, taking into account only the destinations in the Caribbean.
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The inclusion of United Arab Emirates in the list of destinations admitted to Colombian chicken meat adds to a series of strategic markets that have been opened in recent years thanks to the joint work of the private sector, the government and health entities.
According to the National Institute for Food and Medication Surveillance (INVIMA), Colombia already has health admissibility in countries such as Japan, Cuba, Namibia, Bahamas and in the members of the Eurasian Economic Union (Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan).
According to INVIMA, this opening ratifies compliance with international quality and safety standards of Colombian poultry products, and responds to a specific need proposed by the sector’s unions, interested in diversifying markets and expanding their participation in international high -demand scenarios.
In the global context, the United Arab Emirates is supplied mainly by Brazil, the United States and Saudi Arabia, the three largest exporters of avian meat towards that country during 2024. Colombian admissibility represents a significant opportunity to position national production in a competitive and sophisticated environment, in which compliance with health and phytosanitary regulations is decisive.
From Invima it was expressed that this achievement opens a relevant space for commercial use by Colombian producers of avian meat, who already have experience in meat exports to that destination, particularly in bovine meat. The health authority provides that this new step will facilitate a stronger positioning of the Colombian poultry sector in the international market.
With this new authorization, Colombia continues to strengthen its export capacity in the agri -food segment, particularly in a field that has shown sustained growth in external production and demand. The prospects for the coming months point to a diversification of destinations that complement consolidation in Latin America and the Caribbean, and expand the national presence in Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
