Pedro Beirute, new CEO of PROCOMER, was present at the impressive stand that Costa Rica had at the recent edition of Fruit Logistica under the theme "Essential Costa Rica", and talked to FreshPlaza about the scope of this concept that seeks for the country's exports to stand out.
"Essential Costa Rica is a competitive tool, a 'country brand' that we launched last year and which represents the country's core values in the areas of Foreign Trade, Attraction of Direct Foreign Investment and Tourism. The three are synergistic; that is why, together with others, we have launched this programme, which aims to reflect the global efforts that are made locally in our country," affirms Pedro.
Companies must go through a rigorous selection process and offer five key values if they want to receive this certification: excellence, sustainability, social progress, innovation and Costa Rican origin.
"The stand we presented at Fruit Logistica was a cause for great pride, because Costa Rica, despite being a small country with just four million inhabitants, is a global food power, at the level of countries like Argentina, Mexico and Brazil, which have much larger economies, but compete as equals in terms of quality, and that is what Essential Costa Rica aims to showcase," he stated.
Christian Herrera León, president of CANAPEP; Pedro Beirute, general manager of PROCOMER, and Costa Rica's ambassador to Germany, Mr José Joaquín Chaverri S., at Fruit Logistica.
So far, the certification has only been granted to fifty companies. "We are being very rigorous in granting the certification because we want it to have the value it deserves," explains Pedro.
Companies like Tropi Foods, the country's largest exporter of exotics, are already certified by Essential Costa Rica. "The funny thing is that we were certified in the same week as such a huge company as Intel, the world's largest manufacturer of integrated circuits," said Edgar Medina, owner of Tropi Foods.
The programme is broad in scope and does not require the company to be big to be certified; in fact, there are SMEs which have already received the label.
"Pineapple is a fruit that fills us with pride, as its quality is unique thanks to the excellent natural qualities and techniques in the country. However, what truly makes Costa Rican exports stand out is its diversity; today we have 4,500 different products we ship to 150 countries around the world," concludes Pedro.
More information:
Pedro Beirute
PROCOMER
T: +506 2505 4702
pbeirute@procomer.com
www.procomer.com
www.esencialcostarica.com