Source: Article (in Spanish) originally posted in TeleMetro (28th May 2020) and translated in Fresh Plaza

Eric Dormoi, the national director of Export Promotion (DPE) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industries of Panama (MICI), stated that the country was currently seeking to increase fruit exports to international markets, despite the global problems caused by the coronavirus. Panama wants to promote the marketing of pineapple, papaya, Valencia orange, melon, and watermelon, among other items.

Dormoi said that promoting Panamanian products in new markets, such as the United States and Europe, requires certificates of good agricultural practices, so the MICI is working on workshops and training for exporters. “It will be very difficult to export without international certifications,” he said.

The director of the DPE highlighted that Panama has recently managed to open various markets for its fruit, such as Canada, to where it exported papaya for the first time, or Guadalupe, a new market for Panamanian Valencia oranges. He also said that they were exporting pineapples by air to Spain and Germany.

Dormoi also stated that the COVID-19 pandemic had affected the entry of Panama’s and the entire region’s fruit exports to European markets. However, exports from January to February 2020 had grown by 10% over the same period of 2019 totaling B. / 106 million, according to a report by the Comptroller General of the Republic.

It should be noted that Panama exports its products to Finland and the United Kingdom, among other markets, thanks to the logistical advantage that Panama has to increase exports.