Increasing the number of exporting SMEs was from the beginning one of “the priorities established by the management of Governor Omar Perotti“. Within this framework, the link between Santa Fe and the Federative Republic of Brazil is strategic for the province. In fact, in recent years, this country went from being the fifth destination for Santa Fe exports to consolidating itself as the second.
Recently, the governor himself received ambassador Daniel Scioli in the White Room of the Government House, with whom he continues to deepen an ambitious work agenda that has been developed since the beginning of the administration, and that includes actions such as virtual rounds, presence in fairs and missions within the framework of the 2023 management plan, together with Brazil.
Within the framework of these policies, during the month of April the provincial government, through the Secretary of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Production, Science and Technology, promoted the participation of 11 companies from Santa Fe in ExpoApras 2023, an exhibition of the supermarket sector that took place between days 18 and 20 in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. The event had a pavilion where other Argentine provinces participated and was organized by the Argentine Confederation of Medium Enterprises (Came) and the Business Association of Rosario (AER). In addition, Santa Fe acquired an additional space for companies from Santa Fe.
Ambassador Scioli and the lieutenant governor of the State of Paraná, Darci Piana, participated in the Inauguration of the Fair, who during the event were received by the Secretary of Foreign Trade, Germán Burcher, in the space arranged by the Provincial government; and in the Came space, by the Secretary General, Ricardo Diab.
The opportunity to reach new markets
Regarding the participation from Santa Fe, Burcher highlighted that “the presence of Santa Fe at this fair is very important, since there are approximately 300 exhibitors and 50,000 professional visitors. This means that they are visitors who are specifically interested in supermarkets. The 11 companies from Santa Fe brought meat products, wheat flour, food without TACC, household appliances, beverages, bakery products, among others. Our expectation is to be able to further penetrate the Brazilian market”.
“In some cases the firms are already selling products to Brazil and in other cases they are not. This is an opportunity to reach markets that are closer to our province. What is mainly exported from Santa Fe to Brazil are manufactures of industrial and agricultural origin,” added the provincial official.
The reference of the La Cumbre Establishment in the city of Rosario, Paulo Lanza, stated that “It is a very important event that brings together the entire supermarket industry in southern Brazil. We had the opportunity to receive potential clients at our stand and we also participated in a business roundtable”.
Meanwhile, the commercial director of Pampa Cheese, Santiago Aguirre, said that “we are participating in the fair for the first time together with Santa Fe Global and Came, showing our cheeses. We have been marketing the product here for 15 years and this is a good opportunity to strengthen relationships with regular customers and meet potential buyers. This fair helps us to continue investing in this destination”.
Finally, Inalpa’s Foreign Trade Manager, Alejandra Porrini, indicated that “we came to this fair with great expectations since it is the first time we have participated. We were in very important business rounds, in which we made several contacts and we are looking for a distributor for our brand”.
A MARKET OF 11 MILLION CONSUMERS
Apras is an entity that was created in 1971 to defend the interests of supermarkets in the State of Paraná. In addition, it is in charge of training the sector to serve millions of customers on a daily basis, contributing to the training of new professionals to generate jobs on a permanent basis, as well as fostering relationships with partners and suppliers.
From this space arises the ExpoApras Fair, which had, in this edition, 350 stands of minimarkets, supermarkets, wholesalers, bakeries, bars, restaurants and pharmacies, and businesses for more than 100 million dollars. In addition, business roundtables and technical visits to supermarkets and hypermarkets in the aforementioned state were held at the event, a market with approximately 11 million potential consumers.
The space where the Santa Fe SMEs were located, coordinated together with Came, was a stand of more than 310 square meters, where they exhibited their products. It should be noted that, in addition to the Came space, the province of Santa Fe acquired an additional 45 m2, in order to increase the number of participating firms from Santa Fe.
The companies from Santa Fe that participated are Pampa Cheese, a native of Progreso; Tregar, by Gobernador Crespo; 123 Listo, from the town of Recreo; Psicotella and Friar, from Reconquista; Swift, from Villa Gobernador Gálvez; The Summit, from Rosario; Inalpa, from Pavón Arriba; Mills Benvenuto, from Roldán; Liliana, from Rosario; and Paraná Fishing Group, from Arroyo Seco.
BUSINESS ROUNDS AND TECHNICAL VISITS
In addition, exclusive Business Rounds were held for Argentine companies organized by the Paraná State Trade Federation, which contains all the state’s wholesale importers, retailers and supermarkets, and Sebrae (Brazilian Support Service for Micro and Small Businesses). ). Some 40 Brazilian companies participated in them.
In this space, each Argentine company had their work table that allowed them to exhibit their products and the Brazilian counterparts held meetings with each one of them.
In addition, the firms participated in technical visits to wholesale chains, supermarkets and hypermarkets, to learn details of the reality of this commercial sector in the State of Paraná.
