The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative have reopened the Colombian market for U.S. poultry and egg product exports, culminating several months of collaborations with the Colombian Institute of Agriculture to resolve this trade barrier.

“We’re pleased that Colombian officials are living up to the commitments outlined in the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement,” said USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor. “Holding our trading partners accountable is critical to ensuring the benefits of trade are felt by our farmers and ranchers across the United States and in their local communities.”

USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt commented, “Reopening this market was of critical importance to U.S. poultry producers and to USDA. Our team collaborated tirelessly with Colombian officials to demonstrate that U.S. poultry and egg products do not pose an animal health risk and can be safely imported.”

Before the market was closed in August 2023 due to concerns over highly pathogenic avian influenza in the region, Colombia was the 10th largest market for U.S. poultry.

Greg Tyler, USA Poultry & Egg Export Council (USAPEEC) president and chief executive officer, expressed gratefulness for the market reopening. “We’ve had a good relationship with our Colombian counterparts, and we’re just glad we’ve got access again to that important market.”

“It’s a $110 million market for us, so it’s a huge market, and very important as far as trade is concerned when it comes to our free trade agreement that we’ve got with the Colombians,” he said, noting that the disruption “really hurt” exports to that market. In fact, it was also probably one of the reasons why overall U.S. exports dipped from 2022 to 2023, he added.