ProColombia and the Import Promotion Desk (IPD), dedicated to the promotion of imports into Germany, signed an agreement aimed at increasing actions to promote non-mining exports until 2017.
The German buyers’ interest in purchasing Colombian products, especially foods such as exotic fruits and processed foods, led IPD and ProColombia to devise a joint strategy so that more Colombian entrepreneurs could successfully enter the European market, ProColombia said.
"Colombia has a diverse range of quality products we already know. But the amount that reaches the German market isn’t enough," said the director of IPD, Julia Hoffmann.
Non-mining exports from Colombia to Germany grew in 2014 by almost $4.8 million dollars and totalled $183 million dollars, according to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, based on data from the Dane.
The president of ProColombia, Maria Claudia Lacouture, said the agreement was an excellent opportunity "to encourage Colombian companies to cross borders."
According to Lacouture, the first actions include a series of visits to 12 companies in Cali, Pereira, Manizales, Medellin, Bogota and Boyaca, in order to measure their potential and make a diagnosis to focus support measures.
"In these three years we will work with fresh fruit, as we want to reinforce organic production because it has a lot of potential in Germany," stated Hoffmann. However, he said, “we will also be working with processed products, ingredients for cosmetics, exotic fruit pulps, and wood."
The first objective will be to take 12 companies to Anuga, the most representative food fair of the sector that will be held in Cologne during October 2015, said the German official.
Source: marcotradenews.com