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One of Colombia's most important business platforms for the construction sector is Construferia del Caribe. It caught the attention of 15 international buyers from eight countries set to attend the event.
Mario Soto, the company advisor, affirmed that the shipment was a container of 25 tons of bovine meat from the department of Cordoba sent to a client he met at the international fair Anuga in Germany, October of last year.
" The invitation was extended to the countries in which we have identified the main business opportunities for Colombian exporters in the Caribbean. So, this year we will have buyers from Jamaica, Barbados, Haiti, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, El Salvador and Panama for the first time," said Maria Claudia Lacouture, the president of Proexport.
In addition to their interest in Colombian products, Lacouture explained that " the buyers are also motivated by Colombia's free trade agreements. They see Colombia as a platform to access new international markets."
The buyers will be in the Atlantico capital, brought by PROCOLOMBIA, at the fair organized by Camacol Caribe from July 4 to 7 in Barranquilla. Participants include builders, project developers, importers and construction material sector wholesale distributors.
According to PROCOLOMBIA information, buyers are looking for " aesthetic products that are innovative, adjustable, flexible and easy-to-use and made of all-weather materials. Also, they seek products with a high level of pre- and post-sale service.
As per the entity's information, Latin America and the Caribbean represent the majority of the sector's opportunities, mainly driven by the boom in construction in general and the need to invest in infrastructure to improve logistics.
PROCOLOMBIA also identified an economic boost to the construction material sector related to investment by Chinese, American and European companies in sectors linked to public contracting.
New projects such as building schools, middle-class homes, sport centers and polyclinics are driving the sector in Panama, for example.
The Dominican Republic is another potential market because the Government has fostered its expansion with the creation of institutions such as the National Housing Bank (BNV for the Spanish original) and the Housing Institute (INVI for the Spanish original), both of which focus on meeting housing needs in the middle-class sectors
Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Canada, and the United States are other options. Even Turkey, Morocco, Israel and the United Arab Emirates are beginning to look like new markets for Colombians.
In 2012, Colombia exported USD 370 million in construction materials. That is 8% more than in 2011 according to information from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism with information from DANE. These exports went mainly to Venezuela, the United States, Ecuador, Panama and Peru.
A Fair that Gets Results
The international buyers PROCOLOMBIA invited to Construferia in 2012 reported business opportunities estimated at USD 13.4 million, some of which solidified last year.
One of these cases is Forsa, a company from Cali that produces industrial formwork. They closed a business deal with Alfa from Trinidad and Tobago for USD 300 thousand.
The deal was for the construction of a student dormitory on the Caribbean island.
" We met in Barranquilla at the fair we attended at PROCOLOMBIA's invitation. Really, the only thing we needed to do to buy from Colombia was to learn what it had to offer," said Matthew Devaux, the representative of the Trinidadian company.
" That particular client had never purchased from Colombia. It was an important deal because it affirmed our objective to continue fostering our presence in Latin America and the Caribbean," added Mauricio Perdomo, Forsa's Caribbean Region Director.
Ezequiel Barrios from Tecnoglass, a company from Barranquilla, said that because of its participation in Construferia last year, they closed deals with the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Costa Rica.
Another example is Madeflex, also from Atlantico. Its CEO, Soad Askar, advised other entrepreneurs " to get a stand and display novel products that show the company's evolution. The key to participate in this type of event is to take attractive items that are reasonably priced."
