Nicaragua to export to the European Union

Feb. 21, 2012 - PRLog -- The Embassy of Holland recently financed the COACHING program, which will benefit 14 small and medium Nicaraguan enterprises that process honey, coffee, cocoa, and fruits, among other agribusiness products.

The program was created by the Import Promotion Center for Developing Countries of the Netherlands (CBI, for its acronym in Spanish) the Center for Exports and Investments of Nicaragua (CEI, for its acronym in Spanish), and the Producers and Exporters Association of Nicaragua (APEN, for its acronym in Spanish), which provides the country’s SMEs assistance, training and financing in order to export to the European market.

On May 19th, 2010, the European Union and Central America closed negotiations on the Association Agreement they first signed in 2007. The Association Agreement is currently undergoing legal revision in Nicaragua and will proceed to the National Assembly for ratification.

The EU concessions granted to Nicaragua under the agreement include immediate free access for most agricultural products such as banana, sugar, meat, rice and cheese, as well as manufactured products such as textiles and apparel.

The commercial negotiation will allow the country to export up to 500 metric tons of meat to the EU free of taxes with a 5 percent simple annual growth and 11,000 tons of bananas with a 5 percent simple annual growth as well as other products.

As a result of Nicaragua’s engagement in constantly seeking opportunities to ensure its successful integration into international trade by increasing its market access to countries around the world through current preferential access and free trade agreements, the country has access to over 1.4 billion people.

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RONicaragua is the Nicaraguan Investment Promotion Agency, established in 2002. It is a non-profit, public-private institution whose mission is to generate economic growth and job creation in Nicaragua by attracting high-quality foreign direct investment. The agency provides complimentary support services to qualified investors seeking investment opportunities in our country.