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The Colombian offering of non-mining products caught the attention of the 32 international buyers at Eje Exporta 2012. After two days and 459 meetings with the 119 Colombian participants, there were USD$ 16.9 million dollars reported in business opportunities and USD$ 128.580 in closed deals.
"The products that registered the biggest opportunities were specialty coffees and coffee byproducts with $USD 2 million with Chile and the U.S.A. being the most interested. This was followed by swimwear (USD$ 395.300) and jeans (USD$ 311.804)" explained María Claudia Lacouture, chairwoman of Proexport.
Foreigners invited by PROCOLOMBIA arrived from six different countries: U.S.A. lead the participation with 12 entrepreneurs, followed by Chile (6), Mexico (4), Peru (4), Ecuador (4) and Canada (2).
With respect to national participation, the Coffee Triangle had the largest delegation with 105 entrepreneurs 58 of them from Risaralda, 33 from Caldas, and 24 from Quindio. Another three came from Valle del Cauca and one from Cundinamarca.
During the event organized by the Colombian Association of Small and Medium Sized Industries (ACOPI), Colombians offered products from the agro-industrial sector such as sugar, honey, snacks, fruit and processed vegetables, beverages, candy, baked goods, flour milling, dairy products and byproducts, and several food preparations.
The offering in manufacturing was based on construction materials such as metallic structures and products, hardware, profiling, stones and ceramics, paint and coatings, tubing, valves and accessories, and windows.
Apparel entrepreneurs exhibited shirts, pants, pajamas, sports apparel, swimwear, control support clothing, and underwear, jeans and work uniforms.
In 2011, there were 201 companies that exported their non-mining products from the Coffee Triangle, according to information from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism, and data from Dane (National Statistics Administrative Department). Between January and June this year, this number came up to 154.
During 2011, exports totaled USD$1.545 million which represented a growth of 18.2% with respect to 2010. During the six first months of this year, the total came up to $USD 699.4 million.
