ProFound’s senior consultant Gustavo Ferro is currently conducting a Multisectoral Value Chain Analysis (VCA) in Central America for CBI’s new Export Coaching Programme (ECP). He visits six different countries to collect data for this analysis, in collaboration with the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE). In each country, Gustavo and CATIE’s experts are engaging with SMEs and sector organisations. These provide their views and experiences on the following sectors:
- Specialty coffee
- Cacao and derivatives
- Fresh fruit and vegetables
- Processed fruit and vegetables
- Fish and seafood
We are identifying the main constraints and opportunities for sustainable export growth from SMEs and producer groups from Central America to Europe. The study will focus on analysing potential solutions to address these constraints and opportunities, shedding light on CSR, sustainability and gender.
The ECP is implemented in the framework of the Central American Regional Economic Integration (INTEC) project. It aims at strengthening the economic integration in Central America and maximizing the benefits of the implementation of the Association Agreement signed between the EU and Central America. The project covers Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama and El Salvador. It is financed by the European Commission and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Regional Conference Multisectoral VCA
On the 13th and 14th of March 2018, we attended the Regional Conference which marked the beginning of the new EU co-financed ‘Connecting Central America‘ project at the SIECA offices in Guatemala. ProFound and CATIE presented interim results of the VCA. Participants discussed bottlenecks and opportunities within the value chains of the five sectors. They also elaborated on what interventions could spur export promotion.