Virtual BTM will bring together more than 700 entrepreneurs from Costa Rica and 45 other countries

• 80% of the national participants are SMEs.
• 116 companies from different areas outside the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM) will participate.
• International buyers come from Europe, Asia and America.

San José, September 22nd, 2020. Less than a month after the start of the largest business round in the Central American region, Buyers Trade Mission (BTM), around 400 Costa Rican exporters are preparing to attend “one to one” virtual meetings with 302 buyers from 45 different countries, who were interested in the exportable offer of Costa Rica.

In this 22nd edition of BTM, which will be held from October 5th to 23rd in a 100% virtual way, 387 national companies will participate in the business conference with international buyers. As well as 83 companies supplying exporters, a business conference that seeks to promote productive chains. From all the companies participating in the international round, 271 belong to the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM), as well as 116 from the different rural areas of our country. In addition, 99 are from the agricultural sector, 163 from the food industry and 125 from the different specialized industries.

Of the total national participants, 80% correspond to small and medium-sized companies, of which 95 of them have not yet exported, therefore this BTM is an opportunity to take the step towards the internationalization of their goods.

The Acting Minister of Foreign Trade and President of the Board of Directors of The Foreign Trade Agency of Costa Rica, Mr. Duayner Salas Chaverri, stated: “The BTM 2020 will show the Costa Rican way of doing business: with excellence, passion and innovation. At each meeting, international buyers will meet the export talents of our country, which is ready to continue advancing in the Global Value Chains. In addition, they will find a consolidated foreign trade platform, the accompaniment of The Foreign Trade Agency of Costa Rica and a nation that wants to be the home of new businesses”.
For his part, Pedro Beirute Prada, General Manager of The Foreign Trade Agency of Costa Rica, stated that “this first virtual BTM has exceeded our expectations in terms of participation and we hope that this will be the case for our exporters. This effort that we are carrying out has several objectives, one of them is to give continuity to the businesses of hundreds of companies that have been affected by the pandemic; We want to support them so that they can bring well-being and safety to many families in our country. Furthermore, we want to reinforce the presence of Costa Rican products in international markets and send a message of confidence to the world, telling that in Costa Rica we continue to supply their countries with quality, safety and purpose”.

Of the participating national entrepreneurs, 150 attended the preparatory sessions of the BTM School, a training program The Foreign Trade Agency of Costa Rica gave on important topics in internationalization, such as: export logistics, logistics cost structure, management of virtual meetings and effective presentations, international pre-sale and post-sale, innovation with a focus on productive transformation, labeling in Central America, South America, European Union and Asia, as well as aspects of the Single Window of Foreign Trade.

Additionally, around 300 national companies will have the opportunity to show their products in detail through a virtual showroom that will be available during and after the BTM.

ICEPACK of Costa Rica, a company specialized in cold chain management of different products, from the food, medical, agricultural, agro-industrial sectors, cuttings and cut flowers, is one of the participants in virtual BTM 2020. Its representative, Andrea Arce, commented that this activity “is a great showcase for our company, we have participated in previous years with great experiences and learnings. Today and in the face of the pandemic that affects us all, technology and The Foreign Trade Agency of Costa Rica are our great allies, for this great event, where we have high expectations in being able to move forward, consolidating both internal and external markets, offering our products in the best way with the conviction to continue doing things in the best way, to continue our growth with each of our clients and partners ”.

Arce added that virtuality opens the doors even more to move forward and this forces companies to be much more creative, timely and specific.

Regarding international buyers, the participation of more than 300 entrepreneurs from 45 countries in Europe, Asia and America is expected, of which 78 are interested in the agricultural sector, 72 in specialized industries and 169 in the food industry.

Some of the interests that international markets have for Costa Rican goods are the following:

MARKET PRODUCTS OF INTEREST
Israel Fruit pulps, fresh pineapple, coffee
Greece Finished products
El Salvador Pasta, grains, beverages, and canned goods
Nicaragua Spices, seasonings, machinery and equipment, packaging
Guatemala Seasonings, condiments, flours and raw materials, foods for mass consumption, disinfectants and cleaning products
Honduras Pet food, chips, alcoholic beverages
Panama Foods such as jellies, cereals, snacks and others
Peru Food supplies, juices, spirits, beers
Bahamas Food, drink, dairy, pet food
Jamaica Sauces, processed and finished foods
Trinidad and Tobago Processed foods
Dominican Republic Silicone tubes, metalworking parts for the medical industry and plastic with specialized resins.
Puerto Rico Alcoholic beverages and ingredients
Netherlands Exotic fruits
Germany Avocado, melon, banana, snacks
Norway Melon and pineapple
Mexico Suppliers for the aerospace industry and aerospace manufacturing
United States Frozen products, flours, among others

The inauguration of the virtual BTM 2020 will be next Monday, October 5th at 8:00 A.M. via Facebook live, to be broadcasted on the page of The Foreign Trade Agency of Costa Rica.