Central American Agro-Food Export programme

The agri-food sector is by far the most important sector in Central America (CA) in terms of its contribution to current European exports, and it potential for growth. There is a growing European demand for products in which Central American countries have a (potential) competitive advantage, such as specialty coffees, tropical and exotic fresh fruit, processed fruit, off-season vegetables, tropical roots and tubers, cocoa, and a number of other agro-food products. Market opportunities are particularly strong for organic, sustainable, and fair trade-certified products. The CA agro-food sector is also the sector in which most poverty is concentrated, and that provides the majority of jobs in rural areas. The added value that CBI could bring to this sector combined with the demonstrated commitment from CA companies, BSOs, and co-financiers, constituted a solid justification for CBI investment in a 4-year agri-food export programme in the CA region. Furthermore the back then signing of the EU-CA Free Trade Agreement gave extra momentum to start of the programme. The programme was expected to lead to 25 mln EUR worth of additional European export generated by 55 participating companies from the region. The integrated programme design combines different CBI modules, thus making maximum use of CBI's strengths. It also combines a number of innovative elements, such as co-financing by other donors, joint implementation with partner BSOS, close collaboration with agricultural production-oriented initiatives in the region, and early involvement of European importers. Up until 2015 the programme has already achieved some of the original programme goals. All current participants have participated in several international or regional trade fairs and have developed greatly during the Export Coaching as part of the programme. In total, the companies exported €65.527.411 to the EU/EFTA in 2015 (2014: €52.033.797) and €90.307.955 to non-EU/EFTA in 2015 (2014: €70.524.428). Overall employment grew from 4962 employees in 2014 to 5817 in 2015.