Agricultural sector ventures into the virtual world to promote exports

By IDeas trademarks & patents

After the recent participation in the United Fresh Live virtual trade show and a trade mission in Europe under the same format, the agricultural sector of Costa Rica participated in a virtual trade mission with buyers from the United States and Canada, looking for opportunities in international markets to place their fresh products. The activity took place between June 22 to 26, attended by 17 Costa Rican companies.

The products promoted at the sessions included bananas, pineapple, rambutan, coconut and ginger, and some 70 business appointments have been scheduled.

The Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter (PROCOMER), through its Trade Promotion Offices (OPCs), consulted with the different buyers to assess their interest in reactivating their fruit purchases. Based on the positive responses, the exporting companies prepared documents indicating their value proposition, products and certifications, to share with stakeholders at the virtual sessions.

According to Álvaro Piedra, Director of Exports of PROCOMER, this virtual trade mission allowed entrepreneurs to generate new business transactions with clients from traditional and new markets. In addition, it allowed them to take advantage of virtual meetings to present their products without leaving the country, which is of great importance during the current pandemic.

Piedra added that the first virtual trade mission that took place in Europe in April, had positive results, so it was decided to continue with this promotion strategy. According to the Director of Exports, some of the results that were:

-Ginger to Germany.
-Mango to the United Kingdom.
-Cantaloupe, watermelon, papaya and mango to Spain.
-Pineapple to Poland.
-Ginger and sweet potato to France.