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They will be in the most important food fair in the country, with the aim of consolidating themselves in the market and in neighboring countries like Israel and the Arab Emirates.
As of this Thursday, and for four days, 10 Colombian companies will be showcasing their products to nearly 400 exhibitors and 30,000 trade visitors at Gida 2011, the most important food fair in Turkey.
The observation trip, which is part of PROCOLOMBIA' s Support Plan for exporters affected by the ATPDEA, the heavy rains and revaluation, seeks to raise awareness of the Colombian offering of dried fruits such as gooseberry, pitahaya (dragon fruit), pineapple, banana and mango, as well as microwave snacks, shakes and oats.
The companies attending will be Andiequip, Tropickit, Frutireyes, Caribbean Exotics, Tomacol, Fruta Fresca Verona, Signa Grain, Ocati, Andes Food Export Company and Alimentos Naranja Verde.
" We are going to show them that the uchiva (cape gooseberry) is a fruit with many benefits and health properties," said John Lopez of Tomacol, a company that will also take pineapple, mango, banana and dragon fruit. " A lot of dehydrated products are consumed, and the cape gooseberry is the product with which Colombia can be a leader," he added.
Alejandro Angel of Caribbean Exotics, will take the same product in order to " know the market and what the consumer is like, where and to whom to sell. The idea is to make good contacts."
The journey of the Colombian delegation was born from the need of the domestic firms, which were already exporting to that country, to learn more about consumer trends and the business culture of that country.
" It is a very interesting market. At Gida, we will take gooseberry fruit bars with other flavors like strawberry, banana and red berries," said Luis Fernando Gaviria of Alimentos Naranja Verde.
Meanwhile Lina Martinez of Signa Grain, said the company' s goal is to make the trip to see the possibilities in other markets such as Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Russia. " We are looking for exclusive distributors for each country, whom we want to reach with microwave snacks like popcorn, instant oatmeal and soy milk." The fair will give this possibility to Colombian exporters because it will have visitors and exhibitors from the markets of the Mediterranean, the Middle East, the Balkans, countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Russia.
In addition, Colombia will have a booth at the fair and PROCOLOMBIA will officially launch the newly created office in Istanbul as part of its Deep Integration with Peru and Chile, which includes new offices in Japan, South Korea, China, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Singapore.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism, and DANE figures, non-traditional exports from Colombia to Turkey amounted to US$ 24.1 million during 2010.
Of this total, 10.1 percent corresponded to the agribusiness sector with US$2.4 million, with cocoa, sugar and honey as the main products.
