Results. With the participation of 589 companies from different countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, the eighth edition of the Virtual Business Roundtable for Agri-Food Chains, which registered business intentions for USD 23,8 million.
During the virtual event, buying and selling companies held business meetings and conducted networking; with the participation of 315 companies Central American, 200 South American y 74 de North America and the Caribbean.
As in previous editions, the event was held thanks to the close collaboration between the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Executive Secretariat of the Central American Agricultural Council (SE-CAC) and the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA); which since 2020 have organized Business Roundtables to provide commercial promotion spaces that strengthen the regional agri-food sector.
On this occasion, buying and selling companies of all sizes, from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
Through the development of their own agendas, the firms expanded their networking facilitating the opportunity to do business and diversify their markets.
The Solutions most offered During the round, they were fruits and vegetables, followed by coffee and cocoa, food preparations, honey, drinks based on natural juices, and sauces and condiments, among others.
The services The most represented were customs consultancy and foreign trade, in addition to transportation and logistics, the most in-demand products and services being fruits and vegetables, supplies, and machinery and equipment.
He highlights that the 36% of the participating companies are led by of, in addition to the fact that 41% are managed or owned by people under 40 years of age.
From the 2020, Through eight editions of the Virtual Business Roundtables, the participation of 4.421 companies from different Latin American countries have been selected and business agendas have been developed with a balance of USD 197,7 million in business intentions.
Edith Flores de Molina, director of the Center for Studies for Economic Integration (CEIE) of SIECA, said: “We have found that holding business meetings virtually helps facilitate trade, offering great opportunities for doing business and networking between companies located in different countries. We will therefore continue to work to promote this type of activities and projects aimed at contributing to the development of the population and the positioning of our products and services in international markets.”
Daniel Rodríguez, manager of the International Trade and Regional Integration program at IICA, said that the virtual business roundtables for the agri-food chains of Latin America and the Caribbean They have become a meeting point to strengthen trade ties between countries in the region. “This edition saw the participation of more than 19 countries representing all regions of Latin America and the Caribbean (…)”
Pablo Rabczuk, FAO's Agri-Food Systems and Trade Officer, highlighted the importance of Virtual Business Roundtables for Agri-Food Chains as commercial platforms that bring buyers and sellers together.
The Executive Secretary of the CAC, Lucrecia Rodriguez, highlighted in this regard that these
These virtual business meetings are “a meeting point” (…), “all of this just a click away to diversify and expand their presence in other regional or international markets.”
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