In August 2017 the International Trade Hub’s Ivan Mutis was invited with Ruby Ortiz, director of the Florida Institute of Management, to the Guatemalan city of Antigua to discuss business opportunities between Guatemala and the state of Florida. Guatemala’s relationship to SeaSeaPort Manatee is already significant, as one of it’s top five trade partners, exporting bananas, pineapples, melons and plantains through the port. Imports to Guatemala from the Central Florida Gulf Coast port are led by Kraft linerboard, vehicles, auto parts and lubricating oils.

The interview featured below features the highlights of their platforms and their goals for the trip, various of which have seen their second installment this past month with the visit of the trade commission from the Guatemalan ports at Puerto Barrios and Santo Tomás de Castilla, and from a previous trade commission that presented to the Port Authority Meeting this past May.. You can check the video out through the link below, and can connect with the Florida Institute of Management in Miami here.

The International Trade Hub of SeaSeaPort Manatee joined the Chilean Venture Capital Association last week at CIC Miami for our roundtable breakfast series.The event was a success in terms of both content and the valuable networking opportunity post discussion!

This past Tuesday, October 26, the International Trade Hub of the Port of Manatee met with the office of trade promotion of the state department of Chile, PROCHILE, in Chile’s capital, Santiago. Thanks to the support of the Chilean trade commissioner to Florida in Miami, Sacha Garafulic, Marina Besadalombana from the Trade Hub met with PROCHILE’s representatives of North and Central American and Caribbean markets, Jeannette Jofre and Sylvana Gattini. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the promotion of Chilean commercial interests in Manatee County and further establish economic ties through the International Trade Hub and Chilean businesses. Over the course of the meeting, therefore, PROCHILE generated an agenda for the Trade Hub to establish connections with the following Chilean institutions and businesses:
– Chilean-American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM),
– Chilean Exporters Association (ASOEX),
– And businesses including Patagonia Mussels, Chilean Olives, Chiletec, Picso Chile, and Chile Prunes.
PROCHILE has also extended to the Trade Hub an invitation to present this coming Spring regarding business opportunities in Manatee County. We are excited to work with them more in the future!

The International Trade Hub met with potential associate BIOPACIFIC, a biotech company and producer of fertilizers, herbicides and biostimulants, for a tour of their facilities in Chile’s capital Santiago, and for a discussion of their plans to extend into US markets. This meeting was the first since their visit to the United States in July where they met with local citrus growers alongside the Trade Hub’s partner BIOVERT, a Spanish-based company working on anti-greening products for Florida’s agricultural market. Pictured below from left to right are: Andres Gonzalez Schultz, the founder of Biopacific; his partner, Romina Almasia-Croce; and Marina Besadalombana.

This past Thursday, the International Trade Hub of the Port of Manatee met with the Chilean Association of Manufacturing Exporters in the city of Santiago (ASEXMA). Marina Besadalombana, representing the Trade Hub, presented an overview of business opportunities in Manatee County and South West Florida through the International Trade Hub and the Port of Manatee. Various business representatives participated in this meeting, hosted by the chairman and the executive directors of ASEXMA, Roberto Fantuzzi and Marcos Illesca, respectively. Guillermo Guzman, a member and representative of the Chilean Industrial and Entrepreneurial Association, facilitated the introduction of the Trade Hub at this meeting.

Ivan Mutis from the International Trade Hub met with Guatemala’s Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Mr. Ezra Gomez to introduce the International Trade Hub and discuss business opportunities in Manatee County.

During the workshop, Colombian coffee producers Bunland and Monte Cielo presented to local companies interested in international trade with Colombia. The nearly 40 participants sampled a variety of different coffees and learned all about the various forms of coffee preparation!

Our event also appeared in the Tampa Bay periodical 7 Días, under the headline “En FL Consumiremos Aguacates y Cafe de Colombia.” Check it out here !

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