By Wendy Murilo Cerdas
DUBAI: Between the 17th and 21st February 2019, Costa Rica participated at Gulfood, the world’s largest annual food and beverages trade show. Food and beverage industries and professionals will fly to Dubai from all over the world to share and exchange the latest news, innovations and technologies in the industry.
From bananas and coffee, to medical devices and high tech appliances, in only a few decades Costa Rica transformed its previously limited production structure. Despite the country only representing 0.03% of the earth’s territory and a small population of 4.6 million people, the country exports over 4,500 different products to 146 countries.
Costa Rica’s exportation promotion agency, Procomer, will be 1 of the 5000 exhibitors at the show. The International Trade Centre (ITC) – an organisation ascribed to the WTO and the United Nations – ranked Procomer as the best Trade Promotion Office (TPO) in the world for four consecutive years. The comparative analysis, which evaluates 225 technical criteria among 63 trade promotion agencies across the world, revealed that Procomer obtained the highest rating in the history of ITC evaluation with a score of 94.81. The analysis evaluates the good practices of trade promotion agencies in four areas: leadership and direction, measurement and results, resources and processes, provision of services and product.
As of 2018, Procomer Costa Rica obtained presidency of the Ibero-American Network of Export Promotion and Investment Agencies, leading inclusion processes, generation of regional export opportunities and other projects that enhance the export capacities of the countries represented in the Ibero-American Network of TPOs.
Costa Rica strives to strengthen its commitment to ecological sustainability as it aims to become the first carbon-neutral country in the world. The country has already started with an energy matrix that for several consecutive years will only be dependent on electricity produced from renewable resources. This in turn is said to have effects on the wellbeing of its residents, as Costa Rica has been named the “Happiest Country in the World” for a second year in a row by the Happy Planet Index (HPI). The HPI ranked 151 countries based on their efficiency – measuring ecological sustainability against well-being and life expectancy.
The HPI report, published by the New Economics Foundation, seeks to move away from purely economic measures of happiness and instead ranks countries by how much happiness they get from the amount of environmental resources used. Happiness is calculated by measuring a country’s happiness in relation to the wellbeing, life expectancy and social inequality and then dividing it by its ecological footprint.
Spanning over 1,000,000 square feet, the trade show will conduct seminars for newly established businesses to gain knowledge from professionals, as well as showcase products, giving visitors the chance to enjoy and learn about a wide range of cuisines and gadgets from different parts of the world.
Procomer to reserve one-to-one meetings with Pedro Beirute Prada, Head of PROCOMER, (Sunday 17th & Monday 18th) contact Rodolfo Milesi:
Products
Dried fruit, Frozen fruit, banana pure, chocolate, cocoa beans, heart of Palm, pineapple non concentrate juice
Companies
Paradise Ingredients, Costa de Oro Internacional, Todo Natural, Productos Agropecuarios Visa, Demasa, Nahua Cacao & Chocolate.
