350 companies from the Region of Murcia will have participated in 40 projects carried out on five continents

Foreign Promotion Plan

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During the first six months of the year, more than 350 companies will have participated in 40 actions carried out on five continents, covering thirty different markets, within the framework of the Foreign Promotion Plan that Development Institute (Info) execute together with Chambers of Commerce of Murcia, Cartagena and Lorca.

Direct trade missions, some in virtual format, have been the most abundant modality with 20 different activities and the participation of nearly 150 export companies, half of which have been carried out by the Chambers. The financing, with resources from the European Regional Development Fund, managed by Info, has risen to 1.450.000 euros. Subsidies usually cover travel, accommodation and support from technicians or experts 'in situ' from the Foreign Network of the Development Institute.

Some of these missions have been multi-sector in nature, being open to any type of company, while others have been focused on specific sectors such as wines and gourmet food in various cities of United States or horticultural in Canada, ICT in Colombia and Chile, or organic products in United Kingdom.

The Foreign Promotion Plan has also organized participation in 16 fair events. In total, 85 companies have been present, where around 1,3 million euros have been invested. As these are exhibitions, the products marketed have been very specific, such as the footwear in Expo Riva Schuh in Garda (Italy) or food and drinks in Gulfood (Dubai).

In the reverse missions section, the Promotion Plan has attracted buyers who have visited the Region to learn more about the qualities of products such as wine, gourmet food, furniture and tourism. Importers came from markets as diverse as Sweden, Morocco, Southeast Asia or Germany. 119 regional companies have participated in the four actions carried out with this format.

It should be noted that these activities in foreign markets have been carried out through various collaboration agreements with sectoral entities or associations, for example, with FIAB (Spanish Federation of Beverages and Food), ICEX (Spain Exports and Investments), as well as with other regional entities, Calzia, the Department of Agriculture or Agrupal, among other entities.

Exports from the Region of Murcia in the first quarter, the latest figures known, were close to a 10 percent increase over the same period of the previous year. During the first three months of the year, regional companies marketed goods or services worth 3.692 million euros abroad, which represents an increase of 9,6 percent compared to the same period in 2022.