Colombia launches plan to boost export sector
The Ministries of Agriculture and Commerce, together with the Agricultural Institute of Colombia (IC…The Ministries of Agriculture and Commerce, together with the Agricultural Institute of Colombia (ICA), signed an agreement to boost the export sector, which has been a hit in recent months and which, according to the Dane, registered a further 43% drop in foreign sales in September.
The idea is to streamline and optimise all processes and phytosanitary procedures and remove bottlenecks preventing the growth of the production and export of agricultural products.
As pointed out by the institutions involved, their agreement aims to promote the development of agriculture, agro-businesses and to promote international trade.
The goal is to increase the domestic production and strive to reach US $ 30,000 million worth of exports not related to mining or energy.
"The entities and entrepreneurs have already identified several bottlenecks caused, among other reasons, by the limited use of the Internet to speed up negotiations, the deficiencies in specialised technical assistance to producers, the low number of agrochemical inputs registered for commercial use, the low quality of the plant material used for the planting and the need for more staff available to respond to requests from customers," said representatives of the agencies.
The goal is to take greater advantage of the trade agreements signed and increase foreign sales of products like avocados, gooseberries, pineapples, papayas, Tahiti limes, mangoes and passion fruit; herbs such as mint, thyme, basil and rosemary, and tubers like cassava and yams; in addition to dairy products, trout, tilapia, palm and cocoa.
The presentation was attended, among others, by the president of Analdex, Javier Díaz Molina; the President of Fenavi, Andrés Valencia Pinzón, and the executive director of the Colombo-American Chamber, Camilo Reyes.