Moving towards a more competitive, creative economy

By BKM | Berkemeyer

The creative economy impacts on 2.5 percent of Paraguay's GDP and employs 50,000 people a year, according to Ricardo Arriola, executive director of the Federation of Creative Industries of Paraguay (FIC). "This is an important sector that generates economic movement, which needs special attention from the private sector and of public policies”, said Arriola interviewed by Paraguay TV.

The cultural and creative industries are defined as those areas of practice that turn original individual creativity into social and commercial outcomes. As Paraguay looks ahead into the future, it is moving away from an agricultural and industrial economy toward a more competitive global, knowledge-based economy. “One such area of ​​growth is the cultural and creative industries - those endeavors that lie at the crossroads of art, design, culture, business, and technology - which represents about 6.1% of the world’s GDP”, stated a recent report from the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB).

With the advent of the knowledge society, there is a lot of potential in the creative industries, and in Paraguay several sectors have rebounded in recent years, giving excellent opportunities to diversify the country's economy. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the main destination markets for creative goods exports were the Americas (91%) and Europe (8%). The top ten export partners for creative goods were Brazil, the United States, Uruguay, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Chile, Bolivia, China and Italy. Paraguay maintained a large trade deficit with China related to the imports of video games ($212 million) and toys and fashion goods. Paraguay’s main imports were interior design goods from Brazil and video-games and audiovisuals from the United States.

Arriola also stressed that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC) has set up work tables where many sectors come together to analyze the challenges based on a public-private designed road map, which includes training opportunities and financing.