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With specialty coffees, powdered and cubed brown sugar paste, dehydrated and fresh gooseberries, the two Colombian companies and two trade unions to participate in BioFach 2012 will promote the Colombian offering in organic production.
The exporters present at the show, with the support of PROCOLOMBIA, and considered the world' s leading organic products fair, are the National Brown Sugar Producers' Federation (FEDEPANELA), Doñ a Panela, Andes Export Company and the National Coffee Growers' Federation.
In the field of fruits, Andes Export will take its fresh and dried gooseberry, with certifications such as HACCP, BASC, Global Gap, Fair Trade and Organic Production.
On the other hand, the National Coffee Growers' Federation will travel with representatives of ANEI and Seynekun, two indigenous groups of the Arawak culture of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. " They believe that Mother Earth must be protected and, therefore, do not use chemicals in their processes," said Carlos Alberto Gonzalez, Sales Director of the Federation.
The Indians are part of the Organic Coffee program run by the Coffee Growers' Federation, which has concentrated its efforts in three regions of the country. " We work with indigenous people in Cauca and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta because their culture facilitates organic production. But also in the provincial department of Santander, where farmers have to plant in the shade due to the area' s high level of brightness, which allows organisms to respond better than with chemical fertilizers," said Gonzalez.
At PROCOLOMBIA' s " Sensations Bar" in its exhibition stand, representatives of indigenous groups will offer tastings of Colombian coffee.
As for the supply of brown sugar paste, the manager of Doñ a Panela, Freddy Ramirez, said the main goal during his participation at BioFach 2012 is to raise awareness of the product because it is still unknown to the European market.
" We want to show our brown sugar paste to the world people are unaware that there is a variety of unrefined sugars under that name, with that texture and flavor, which is one hundred percent natural and also, according to the World Health Organization - WHO, is a great nutritional supplement thanks to its content of fructose and glucose," he said.
He also assured that the company' s organic production, which grows in the provincial department of Boyacá , albeit its difficulty in regard to the management of the crops, yields profits that are greater than the costs. " The world' s trend is to go back to the consumption of healthy foods, with no fertilizers and no herbicides. We are also very mindful of our water sources, which translates into tighter controls and stronger crops."
BioFach 2012 will take place from February 15 to 18 in Nuremberg, Germany, and will host nearly 2,500 exhibitors and 44,500 specialized visitors from 130 countries.
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