São Paulo – Colombian businessmen are hoping to export more to the Arab world and diversify their export markets. It is with this intention that they are going to attend the entrepreneurial forum that is going to be a part of the activities of the Summit of Arab-South American Countries (Aspa), next week, in Doha, Qatar. The forum should be held next Sunday (29th) and Monday (30th), and the meeting of heads of state and government, on Tuesday (31st) and Wednesday (01st). Eight businessmen and Colombian private sector representatives should participate in the meeting for businessmen.
The information was supplied by the commercial director at the Colombia – United Arab Emirates and the Gulf Cooperation Council Chamber of Commerce, Mustafá Badawy. According to the commercial director, in addition to three representatives of the organisation, the forum is going to be attended by Colombian businessmen from the oil, finance, building, and coffee sectors. According to him, Colombia is now starting to intensify its commercial relations with the Arab world and regards the region as a possibility for diversifying the targets for its exports, which are presently too focused on coffee sales to the United States and Venezuela.
Last year, up until October, Colombia posted US$ 8.4 million in revenues from exports to the United Arab Emirates, consisting mostly of sales of sweets, emeralds, roses, bullet-proof glass and fibreglass. In the year of 2007, Colombia exported the equivalent to US$ 69.7 million to the Arab world as a whole. There was growth of 77% over the previous year. “Our expectations for the forum are high, we want to open up new markets, make contacts, showcase the Colombian products, attract investment. We are seeking new markets,” says Badawy, who is going to be in Doha.
According to the commercial director, relations between Colombia and the Arab world have become more intense over the last few years. The process, however, is a recent one. Last year, for example, the Colombian minister of Foreign Relations, Jaime Bermúdez, took a trip to Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. A mission from the emirate also went to Colombia. “We are getting started, this is a good moment for us to have the Aspa,” claims Badawy. According to him, as a result of the ongoing world crisis, the country is coming to realise that it cannot depend as much as it does on exports to the United States and Venezuela.
Last year, Colombia posted revenues of US$ 30 billion from exports. Coffee is the main export product, but the country also sells emeralds, fruit, vegetables and candy, among other items, to foreign countries. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Colombia is US$ 249.8 billion, 54% of which comes from the services sector. Industry answers to 36.6% of the GDP and agriculture, to 9.4%. In the agribusiness sector, Colombia produces coffee, flowers, fruit, rice, tobacco, maize, cane, cocoa, vegetable oils, forestry products and shrimp. The main industrial products are textiles, foodstuffs, oils, cement, chemicals, gold and coal. The country has 45.6 million inhabitants.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum