With the help of the Foreign Promotion Plan, Murcian exporters are heading to Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Ghana until the end of the year.

1,257 million euros exported in 2021 (last year with complete figures), which represents an increase of 38,94% compared to the previous year. The interest of Murcian companies in the African continent, especially in the Maghreb and West Africa, has intensified in recent times, with a dozen activities this year and plans to visit Mauritania this month.

"They are relatively complex markets, very fragmented by cultural and political diversities, not to mention logistical difficulties," says Joaquín Gómez, director of Info, an organization that finances promotional activities (European Regional Development Fund).

In 2021, 1,714 companies from the Region of Murcia marketed their products in Africa, a growth of 14,19% compared to the 1,501 sent in 2020.

The main focus of Murcian exporters is concentrated in the Maghreb, with 980 companies, and in West Africa, where the Promotion Plan will focus until the end of the year, with 686 firms that exported last year. Exports to this region account for 10,35% of total regional exports.

During your stay in the Region of Murcia, you will have the opportunity to learn first-hand about the technological achievements of the Agritech Murcia companies. In addition to visiting other entities such as the Integrated Center for Agrarian Training and Experiences (CIFEA) of Torrepacheco or the Community of Irrigators for the Use of Groundwater.

Likewise, in collaboration with the same agricultural technology platform, internationalization experts from the Development Institute will travel to Mauritania in a few weeks to explore possible cooperation mechanisms with the Mauritanian authorities. This is a consequence of the visit that a delegation from that country made to the Development Institute last Monday and in which the modalities of a possible trade mission, scheduled for the end of January, were discussed.

The advance party will visit several areas that already have projects and are in production. Other areas are not yet operational, but have been included in the agricultural and livestock development plans of the Mauritanian Government. Meetings will be held with some private producers and cooperatives, a research center and a working meeting with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture. This business exchange is the result of a meeting between the Mauritanian president Mohamed Ould Ghazouani and the president of the Autonomous Community, Fernando López Miras, during his visit to the Region of Murcia a few months ago.

For its part, the Murcia Chamber of Commerce has organized a trade mission to Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Ghana in 2022. Within the Promotion Plan of food and beverage companies, agricultural processing technology and machinery, packaging and packaging, construction materials and machinery, capital goods, cleaning products, energy and furniture. It was already at the Djazagro fair (Algiers) in May with food packaging manufacturing companies. In October he did the same in Morocco with another trade mission for construction materials, machinery and service companies.

Source: INFO