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PROCOLOMBIA president, Maria Claudia Lacouture, will present the business opportunities offered by the country to a group of 100 business people from Russia, at the Fifth Colombia-Russia Mixed Commission, which will take place in Moscow. The Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Sergio Díaz-Granados, will also participate.
According to FDI Markets, the Financial Times intelligence unit, between 2003 and 2012 Russian investments in Latin America have been mainly directed at financial services, automotive assembly, gas, coal and software and information technology (IT) services.
" We have opportunities in several of these sectors, especially the automotive, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), software and information technology (IT) services, metal working and oil and mining goods and services sectors," highlighted the PROCOLOMBIA president.
With a 28.8% share, the software and services sector has been the main destination of Russian investments in Latin America over the last decade, according to FDI Markets. In this respect, over the last three years, Colombia' s IT market has grown by 29%, software by 22% and services by 18%, according to information from the International Data Corporation (IDC).
Furthermore, the Colombian Association of Contact Centers forecasts that the service outsourcing sector will continue to grow at an average rate of 13% over the next four years.
Regarding the potential of the automotive sector, figures from the labor observatory of the Colombian Ministry of Education indicate that this industry employs around 23,000 professionals.
The demand driven by the development of mass transport systems in the country' s major cities represents an investment alternative in bus assembly, as well as for auto parts, where exports grew by 40% over the last five years, according to the Ministry of Commerce, based on figures from the DANE (National Administrative Department of Statistics).
Finally the ANDI (National Business Association of Colombia) estimates that the share of the steel and metal working sector represents 12% of Colombian industry and generates approximately 15% of employment in this segment, which demonstrates strength to Russian companies interested in developing new projects in metal working areas.
Increase in Exports of Apparel, Manufactured Goods and Promotional Items
As well as investment opportunities, strengths will also be promoted in order to increase trade exchange. In this respect, entrepreneurs who import Colombian products including fruit, coffee, flowers, apparel, meat, dairy products and leather goods will also attend.
The PROCOLOMBIA president underscored that among the identified business opportunities, the potential of several regions to export products including handicrafts, bathing suits, costume jewelry, processed vegetables and auto parts stands out.
Trade relations have improved over the last two years. According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, based on data from the DANE, in 2011, foreign sales reached USD 100.4 million and in 2012, the figure reached USD 118.7 million, which represented a growth of 18.1%.
In this period, the products that recorded the greatest growth were promotional items, apparel, leather goods and fresh flowers.
Export Opportunities Identified for Russia:
Antioquia: Fats and oils, coffee products, flowers and foliage, fresh fruit, processed vegetables, handicrafts, promotional items, auto parts, costume jewelry, leather goods, underwear, textiles and bathing suits.
Bogota and Cundinamarca: Fats and oils, cocoa and coffee products, flowers and foliage, fresh fruit, processed vegetables, ornamental fish, handicrafts, promotional items, auto parts, costume jewelry, leather goods, textiles and bathing suits.
Valle del Cauca: Fats and oils, cocoa and coffee products, flowers and foliage, fresh fruit, processed vegetables, auto parts, leather goods, underwear and bathing suits.
Bolivar: Fats and oils, auto parts, costume jewelry, leather goods and bathing suits.
Atlantico: Fats and oils, beef, fresh fruit, processed vegetables, promotional items, parts, spare parts and pieces for automobiles, costume jewelry, leather goods, underwear, textiles and bathing suits.
Magdalena: Fats and oils, coffee products, processed fruit and vegetables, leather goods, underwear and bathing suits.
Culture, Sun and Sand for the Russian Traveler
With 40.8 million trips abroad and a 10.9% growth in 2011, Russia has become the fourth largest source of outbound tourism to the world, according to Euromonitor International.
The same organization forecast that for the 2012-2016 period, trips by Russian tourists will grow at an annual rate of 7%.
In long-distance travel, Russians are consumers of the traditional sun and sand product and their favorite activity together with culture is shopping. In this sense, Colombia has significant potential to attract these travelers, having a variety of attractions that include these aspects.
An example of this combination of products is Cartagena, where you can enjoy sun and sand (especially on the beaches of the Islands of Rosario and Baru), see colonial architecture and go shopping in the city.
According to figures from Migracion Colombia, last year, 4,777 travelers arrived from Russia, a figure that represents a growth of 9% and 1.5% of the total of European arrivals.
