OREANDA-NEWS. Bogota-30 November 2015: Fitch Ratings expects the Colombian food sector to remain stable during 2016, despite the current slowdown of economic activity, according to a new report published today.

Pressures from rising inflation, the depreciation of the Colombian peso and weakened consumer confidence should be offset by strong brand positioning, geographical and product diversification and operational generation ability. Lower commodity prices will continue giving some cushion to most companies in the sector.

Fitch expects Colombian food companies to have room for debt reduction in 2016 given an operating cash flow strengthening and capex spending becoming moderate. Due to debt-funded merger and acquisition activity, several Colombian food companies have limited leverage headroom.