Products derived from bananas, palm and coffee
Cattle and poultry farming
Fruit growing
AGRIBUSINESS IN FIGURES
Magdalena is the department of the Caribbean region with the highest percentage of these activities compared to its GDP
Wholesale and retail trade;
vehicle repair. 2021
Agriculture, Livestock, Hunting,
Forestry, and Fishing 2021
Why Invest in Bananas?
- Colombia is the fourth country in the exporters ranking of the region with 1,738,504 Tons.
- It is the third agricultural export product.
- The main markets are Europe (82.2%) and North America (17.4%).
- Magdalena represents 39.2% of banana exports in the country.
- About 52,000 employees in the department; with an estimated contribution of 8.66% of employment.
- It contributes to 43.7% of the departmental agricultural GDP.
- It is the second largest export product from the port of Santa Marta with more than 3,656,820 tons in the last 5 years.
Why Invest in Coffee?
- Coffee in Magdalena is grown by peasant, indigenous and Afro-descendant communities in about 17,917 hectares of Arabic coffee.
- The varieties of this coffee are Castillo, Colombia, Caturra, Típica, Cenicafé 1 and Tabí. There are about 5,178 farms.
- Its geographical location, being located in the extreme north of Colombia, at 11° north latitude, gives it an environmental offer, which requires having coffee plantations at a lower height above sea level than in the center and south of the country.
- Magdalena has 12,000 hectares of coffee certified as sustainable coffee farming.
- About 11,350 direct employees and about 2,086,308 direct and indirect wages per year.
- It is the fourth largest export product from the port of Santa Marta with more than 222,224 tons in the last 5 years.
Why Invest in African Palm?
- In Magdalena, there are approximately 46,739 hectares planted with African palm, with 98% in production.
- 17 out of the 30 municipalities in the department are involved in palm cultivation. The production of crude palm oil accounts for 9.98% of the national total (155,550 tons).
- There are 501 certified palm growers registered with the National Registry of Palm Growers (RNP), and 7 operational palm oil processing centers.
- The productivity is 3.4 tons of crude palm oil per hectare.
- It generates around 15,442 direct and indirect jobs per year.
- It is the third largest export product from the port of Santa Marta, with over 1,795,085 tons in the last 5 years.
Investment in tourist infrastructure
Suppliers
- The tourist potential of Santa Marta includes sun and beach tourism, ecotourism, ethnotourism, cultural tourism and meetings (conferences) tourism.
- Approximately 3 million tourists arrived in Santa Marta in 2021.
- More than 923,000 visitors to the natural parks in the last 3 years.
- Hotel occupancy as of July of the year 2022 was 60.5% above the national average (59.2%).
The tourism chain is the main driver of employment in the city. - The tourism chain is the main driver of employment in the city.
- According to MinCIT estimates, a 49% growth in the tourism sector is estimated for 2022 compared to 2021.
SANTA MARTA HOTEL OCCUPANCY
Source: Cotelco, 2022
Tourism highlights
The department of Magdalena has 4 protected areas constituted as national natural parks (Tayrona, Sierra Nevada, Ciénaga Grande, Isla Salamanca.
Santa Marta is home to two of the largest natural reserves in the country (Tayrona and Sierra Nevada).
During the year 2021, the PNN Tayrona received nearly 400,000 visitors; ranking as the second most visited ecotourism protected area in the country.
MEETINGS TOURISM - BUREAU
The city and the department have the infrastructure that positions them as important key corporate tourism centers for attracting events of international stature.
For the pre-pandemic year, Colombia was among the countries that held the most events in the world (Rank 29) with close to 156 international events and more than 1,000 local ones (ICCA, 2020).
Santa Marta ranks sixth nationwide in the ranking of business tourism destinations.
Ports
Free trade zones
Industrial Parks
- Port of Santa Marta is the only Colombian port with a natural draft of up to 57′, which allows the operation of large vessels without restrictions.
- Its climatic advantages benefit its operations given that the low relative humidity and little salinity make the port the only one in the Caribbean region with the lowest level of corrosion.
- It has a large offer of services oriented to general storage, internal and external logistics operations.
The Tayrona Free Trade Zone was designed as a multi-sector free trade zone ideal for the metallurgical sector. It is located where the Ruta del Sol (Sun Highway) and the country’s main railway line begin, 12 kilometers from the 60-foot deep-water natural port, and it is an excellent option for the markets of Venezuela, the United States, and Central America.
The Free Trade Zone of the Americas is located 7 kilometers from the port of Santa Marta and 17 kilometers from the Simón Bolívar airport. It has an area of 315,000 m2 and currently two projects have been developed: the soap and glycerin plant.
The Santa Marta Free Trade Zone is located next to the Santa Marta port and railway zone, 10 kilometers from the airport and 5 kilometers from the port and commercial area. It has an area of 340,000 m2.
The Palermo Sociedad Portuaria Free Trade Zone located on the eastern bank of the Magdalena River in front of Barranquilla. Its strategic location makes it a privileged port for multimodal transport due to its direct connection to the main land routes that go into the interior of the country, avoiding blockades and heavy traffic entering the city. Additionally, it has access to the Magdalena River, which enables fluvial operations.
Santa Marta Industrial Logistics Park – PLIS- It provides your company with the best location for your logistics or industrial activities. Proximity to the main highways of the country, air and sea terminal of the city of Santa Marta. It offers facilities in the same park that enable the potentiating and/or consolidating of its competitive advantages. Being a main interest of our organization the creation of a space that is responsible with the environment.
The Santa Marta Industrial Logistics Park PAS arises in response to the needs of businessmen in the city and the region, offering a unique, modern, innovative center with complementary services, large spaces and built under the highest international standards required for the storage, distribution and marketing of agricultural products, of mass consumption, inputs for construction and other sectors of the economy.
It specializes in the management, construction and marketing of real estate projects.
The geographical location, its infrastructure and experience enable the Port of Santa Marta to be competitive in providing logistics to offshore processes, attracting important benefits for the city and the oil industry in Colombia.
According to the National Hydrocarbons Agency, there are currently six exploration and production contracts that go from the coasts of Córdoba to La Guajira, which will be handled by the port that offers the greatest guarantees, Santa Marta being one of the most opted.
Ports
- Santa Marta consolidated itself at the end of the first semester of the year 2022 as the city at the national level with the highest growth in home sales.
- The valuation (increase in appraisal value) of a project from its launch phase to its construction is 30%.
- First city with the largest offer of tourist or investment housing in Colombia.
- Santa Marta in the second city in the world as the best option for real estate investment facing the sea according to the year 2021 global property survey of live and invest overseas by Forbes.
