Given the 10.1% decline in Panamanian exports, Panamanian authorities are seeking to exchange information with Costa Rica's Foreign Trade Promoter (Procomer) to learn from the successful experience of more than 100 products that Costa Rica exports to different markets.
The official mission, which was headed by Deputy Minister Nestor Gonzalez; the director of Exports, Leyda Gonzalez, and the directors of the Panamanian Association of Exporters (APEX), met at the offices of Procomer to get to know their structure, operations, projects, and the services that they offer the export sector.
They also exchanged information regarding good practice to support and promote Panama's export development, and to diversify exports.
The mission also included a meeting with the general director of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Victor Villalobos, with whom they spoke about access to market issues, search engines, market profiles to be used by the public and private sectors, and this organization's free services.
This meeting is part of the implementation of the Technical Cooperation Agreement signed by the MTI and the IICA to boost agricultural exports and promote agribusiness to strengthen the capacity of the organizations in the productive and public sectors so that they can boost agricultural exports by developing training activities, promoting exports of selected products, and developing a country brand that allows promoting their products in formal export markets.
According to data from the General Comptroller, up until October, exports of bananas decreased by 6.3%, melon by 18.6%, and pineapple by 36.1%.
"We won't stop working to strengthen the capacities of the private productive sector and the development of emerging companies because our goal is to boost our exports and increase the list of products that have an export potential," Gonzalez said.
Source: panamaamerica.com.pa