This content was published on July 4, 2023 – 8:44 p.m. Jul 4, 2023 – 8:44 p.m
San Jose, 4 July (EFE). – The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA) reported Tuesday that the virtual business conference had generated $26 million in business intent from agri-food companies in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The seventh edition of the event, organized by IICA, recorded a business intention of US$26 million and resulted in the participation of 584 companies, 300 from Central America, 247 from South America and 37 from North America and the Caribbean.
“The wheels have become a regional public good, facilitating the diversification of export markets and products, while encouraging greater participation in export markets by the various players in the region’s chains,” the manager said. from the IICA Program on International Trade and Regional Integration, Daniel Rodríguez.
The most represented sectors were fruit and vegetables, dairy, seafood, tea, coffee and cocoa, natural juice-based beverages, staple grains, seeds, meat, honey, tubers, baked goods, sauces and spices; In addition, including customs advice and foreign trade, packaging, transport and logistics, machinery and equipment and agricultural innovation.
The activity brought together buying and selling companies of all sizes, from countries such as Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Belize, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela, Cuba and Jamaica.
By developing their business plans, companies expanded their work and contact network, opening up the opportunity to do business and diversify their markets.
“Virtual wheels are consolidating business opportunities that impact economic development and better lives for small and medium-sized agri-food entrepreneurs, their families and their communities,” said Pablo Rabczuk, FAO Commissioner for Agri-Food Systems and Trade.
Rabczuk also highlighted the participation of young people and businesswomen, the number of which increased with each edition of Virtual Wheels.
This “shows how these virtual spaces are useful tools for strengthening capacities related to accessing international markets,” he said.
According to IICA data, from 2020 to date, in seven editions of the Virtual Business Roundtables, 3,832 companies from different Latin American countries have joined and the development of business plans has been achieved with a balance of $173.9 million in business intentions. EFE
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