Successful promotion of Nicaraguan exports in leading European markets

Managua, Nicaragua; February 24, 2015

The ‘’Competitiveness Strengthening Program for Nicaraguan Enterprises’’, implemented by the Government of Nicaragua through the Ministry of Development, Industry and Trade (MIFIC, for its Spanish acronym) in collaboration with the European Union, has generated good results. The trade promotion component, executed by PRONicaragua, allows companies in different industries to promote their products in trade events in Central America and the European market.

Sahlman Seafood’s and Almidones de Centroamerica S.A. (Alcasa, for its Spanish acronym) are two Nicaraguan companies that have benefited from this initiative. For Sahlman Seafood’s, “this program has been of great help since more than 60 percent of our production of Vannamei shrimp is exported to the European market. Over the past two years, our exports have increased by 20 percent reaching 3,500 tons annually”, stated Julio Juarez, Plant Manager at Sahlman Seafoods. Paul Bosche, Advisor at Alcasa said that ‘’without the program, the learning curve to export non traditional products would have been extremely erratic and time consuming’’.

In order to be eligible for the program, companies need to be currently exporting or have export potential, must be legally established and operating in Nicaragua for at least one year, must possess the adequate infrastructure, and must be able to meet the program’s financial obligations. As a way to encourage the participation of Nicaraguan companies in the program, the European Union subsidise a significant portion of the total cost; up to 70 percent of the total cost. At the moment, PRONicaragua has confirmed 60 companies that have signed participation agreements for events in Europe and Central America.

Last year, PRONicaragua accompanied Nicaraguan suppliers in the Second World Cocoa Conference in Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Expocalzado Fair (footwear) in Guatemala City, Guatemala; Conxemar Exhibition (frozen seafood) in Vigo, Spain; SIAL (food industry) in Paris, France; among others.

Nicaragua’s exports of goods to the third trimester of 2014 have grown a total of 10 percent in relation to the same period in 2013, US$325.5 million were destined to the European Union. During this period, the most exported products were coffee, shrimp, peanut and leather. The major destination markets for those exports were Germany, Italy, Spain, France and Great Britain.

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En español: Empresas destacan productos nicaragüenses en principales ferias de Europa