Colombian avocados: the real stars of the Super Bowl

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It is expected that 100 tons of Colombian avocados will be consumed in the most important sporting event in the United States

On February 3 will take place the most important sporting event in the United States, Super Bowl LIII, in which the Los Angeles Rams will face the New England Patriots at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. According to Nielsen Media Research, annually, the Super Bowl is the most watched television broadcast in the United States. In 2018 it had an average of 103.4 million viewers; in 2017, 111.3 million and in 2016 with 111.9 million viewers.

Leer en español: Aguacates Colombianos: las verdaderas estrellas del Super Bowl

Moreover, Nielsen also reports that Super Bowl XLIX has the record of the largest audience of a television broadcast in the United States, with an average of 111.4 million viewers. The importance of this sporting event is big enough to talk about an unofficial holiday in the United States. Also, in the Super Bowl Sunday the consumption of some foods and alcohol dramatically increases. According to Forbes, Super Bowl Sunday consumes approximately 12.5 million pizzas, 1.33 billion chicken wings, 325 million gallons of beer, and 82,200 tons of guacamole.

'Achievements of health diplomacy'

Given the amount of avocado that will be consumed during the sporting event, Colombia will export 100 tons of Hass avocados to the United States to be consumed during the Super Bowl. In this regard, Andrés Valencia, Minister of Agriculture of Colombia said that "these results are the achievements of health diplomacy, driven by the government of President Ivan Duque, in which we are committed so that our avocado continues through this path”.

“Today Colombia is the fourth largest producer of Hass avocado, and we will continue working so that in 2020 the participation will be much greater ". According to the newspaper Dinero, the goal of the Colombian government is to increase its participation in avocado consumption during the Super Bowl, because it represents a market of approximately US $ 2,000 million each year.

According to the general manager of the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA), Deyanira Barrero León, in Colombia there are 13 productive avocado production centers in 7 different departments, and it is expected that by the end of 2019 it will be possible to reach a total of 90 production centers, to help to export this type of avocados.

The export of Colombian Hass avocados for the Super Bowl coincides with the shortage of fuels in Mexico, the largest exporter of avocados for the Super Bowl, which has put at risk the export of the so-called "green gold". As pointed out by Reuters and ESPN, Michoacán, the largest producer of avocados in Mexico, is one of the Mexican states most affected by the shortage of fuel and, which has complicated the transportation of these fruits to the United States. However, in recent days, the Association of Producers and Packers Exporters of Avocados Mexico (APEAM) assured the supply of avocados for the Super Bowl.

Also read: Banks in Central America: Colombia’s property

The presence of Latin American industries in the Super Bowl

Given the high numbers of a television audience of the American football game and its demographic and age diversity, the possibility of registering for a commercial during the broadcast is seen as an invaluable opportunity for companies that seek to give great visibility to the products and services that offer. Taking advantage of its privileged position in the export of avocados for the Super Bowl, APEAM has invested for the fifth consecutive year in the transmission of a commercial of 30 seconds during the sporting event. According to Bussiness Insider, for the Super Bowl LII (2018), the transmission of a 30-second commercial during the game would cost at least USD $ 5 million.

In addition to APEAM, the government of Ecuador also paid a 30-second commercial during the XLIX (2015) edition of the sports event advertising tourism in the South American country as part of the "All You Need is Ecuador" campaign. In addition to the above cases, in 2016 a Colgate commercial produced by the Peruvian marketing agency Y&R Peru was transmitted whose purpose was to raise public awareness of the amount of water that can be wasted when brushing teeth.

Apart from the commercial guidelines, in this year's edition of the Super Bowl, Latin America also has a presence in the stadium where the game will be played. As reported by Dinero, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, which opened its doors to the public only a year and a half ago, was built with concrete from the Colombian company Argos. The company reported that the construction of the stadium took more than 25,000 trips mixer trucks and more than 153,000 m 3 of concrete.

LatinAmerican Post | Juan Diego Bogotá

Translated from: 'Aguacates Colombianos: las verdaderas estrellas del Super Bowl'