{"id":2171,"date":"2017-11-14T08:00:50","date_gmt":"2017-11-14T13:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.internationalhubportmanatee.com\/?p=2171"},"modified":"2025-11-13T10:24:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T15:24:37","slug":"port-manatee-and-japan-strengthening-commercial-connections-2-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.internationalhubseaportmanatee.com\/es\/port-manatee-and-japan-strengthening-commercial-connections-2-2-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Port Manatee-Ecuador trade opportunities abound"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PALMETTO, Florida \u2013 SeaPort Manatee is seen as an ideal gateway for Ecuadorian imports to burgeoning Central and Southwest Florida markets, according to a top trade official visiting the Florida Gulf Coast port today [Nov. 14].<\/p>\n

\u201cOpportunities are really growing for reaching Central and Southwest Florida by way of SeaPort Manatee,\u201d said Manuel Echeverria Castro, Ecuador\u2019s trade commissioner for the southern United States. \u201cWe have a very high interest in SeaPort Manatee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are looking to increase awareness that ports on the Gulf of Mexico, such as SeaPort Manatee, offer great opportunity, in addition to traditional South Florida gateways,\u201d said Echeverria, who noted that about 30 percent of Ecuador\u2019s non-oil exports go to the United States, with approximately 40 percent of those products currently entering via South Florida ports on the Atlantic Ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n

Central and Southwest Florida markets combine to put nearly 10 million consumers within a two-hour drive of SeaPort Manatee while attracting some 100 million annual visitors.<\/p>\n

In recent years, shipments to SeaPort Manatee from Ecuador have included bananas and fertilizer, but Echeverria sees those products being joined by mangos and other fruit, as well as dozens of other potential items, from shrimp to cocoa beans and chocolate to Panama hats. The latter haberdashery good, Echeverria pointed out, is, despite its name, actually made in Ecuador.<\/p>\n

Echeverria was joined by Daniela Mu\u00f1oz, business development manager in the Pro Ecuador trade development office in Doral, Florida, for a presentation at the Manatee County Port Authority\u2019s monthly meeting, as well as a tour of SeaPort Manatee, including the International Trade Hub at SeaPort Manatee, and engagement at a Manatee County Chamber of Commerce luncheon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe greatly appreciate the interest shown in SeaPort Manatee by Ecuadorian trade officials,\u201d said Carlos Buqueras, SeaPort Manatee\u2019s executive director, \u201cand we look forward to working together to advance mutually beneficial commercial ties.\u201d The Ecuadorian officials\u2019 visit to SeaPort Manatee is the latest of several by Latin American trade leaders, augmenting those earlier this year by representative of Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic. The International Trade Hub at SeaPort Manatee has played an integral role in attracting for such activity since its opening in 2014.<\/p>\n

Vanessa Baugh, chairwoman of the Manatee County Port Authority, cited SeaPort Manatee\u2019s recent completion of a record fiscal year for container volume and cargo tonnage and commented, \u201cGrowing trade with Ecuador and other Latin American countries seeking ready access to Central and Southwest Florida markets bodes to significantly enhance SeaPort Manatee\u2019s already impressive position as a critical economic engine for our region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Located \u201cWhere Tampa Bay Meets the Gulf of Mexico,\u201d SeaPort Manatee is the closest U.S. deepwater seaport to the expanded Panama Canal, with 10 40-foot-draft berths serving container, bulk, breakbulk, heavylift, project and general cargo customers. The port generates more than $2.3 billion in annual economic impact for the local community, while supporting more than 24,000 jobs, without levying ad-valorem taxes.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=\"2172\" img_size=\"large\" add_caption=\"yes\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_column_text]PALMETTO, Florida \u2013 SeaSeaPort Manatee is seen as an ideal gateway for Ecuadorian imports to burgeoning Central and Southwest Florida markets, according to a top trade official visiting the Florida Gulf Coast port today [Nov. 14].<\/p>\n

\u201cOpportunities are really growing for reaching Central and Southwest Florida by way of SeaSeaPort Manatee,\u201d said Manuel Echeverria Castro, Ecuador\u2019s trade commissioner for the southern United States. \u201cWe have a very high interest in SeaSeaPort Manatee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are looking to increase awareness that ports on the Gulf of Mexico, such as SeaSeaPort Manatee, offer great opportunity, in addition to traditional South Florida gateways,\u201d said Echeverria, who noted that about 30 percent of Ecuador\u2019s non-oil exports go to the United States, with approximately 40 percent of those products currently entering via South Florida ports on the Atlantic Ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n

Central and Southwest Florida markets combine to put nearly 10 million consumers within a two-hour drive of SeaSeaPort Manatee while attracting some 100 million annual visitors.<\/p>\n

In recent years, shipments to SeaSeaPort Manatee from Ecuador have included bananas and fertilizer, but Echeverria sees those products being joined by mangos and other fruit, as well as dozens of other potential items, from shrimp to cocoa beans and chocolate to Panama hats. The latter haberdashery good, Echeverria pointed out, is, despite its name, actually made in Ecuador.<\/p>\n

Echeverria was joined by Daniela Mu\u00f1oz, business development manager in the Pro Ecuador trade development office in Doral, Florida, for a presentation at the Manatee County Port Authority\u2019s monthly meeting, as well as a tour of SeaSeaPort Manatee, including the International Trade Hub at SeaSeaPort Manatee, and engagement at a Manatee County Chamber of Commerce luncheon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe greatly appreciate the interest shown in SeaSeaPort Manatee by Ecuadorian trade officials,\u201d said Carlos Buqueras, SeaSeaPort Manatee\u2019s executive director, \u201cand we look forward to working together to advance mutually beneficial commercial ties.\u201d The Ecuadorian officials\u2019 visit to SeaSeaPort Manatee is the latest of several by Latin American trade leaders, augmenting those earlier this year by representative of Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic. The International Trade Hub at SeaSeaPort Manatee has played an integral role in attracting for such activity since its opening in 2014.<\/p>\n

Vanessa Baugh, chairwoman of the Manatee County Port Authority, cited SeaSeaPort Manatee\u2019s recent completion of a record fiscal year for container volume and cargo tonnage and commented, \u201cGrowing trade with Ecuador and other Latin American countries seeking ready access to Central and Southwest Florida markets bodes to significantly enhance SeaSeaPort Manatee\u2019s already impressive position as a critical economic engine for our region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Located \u201cWhere Tampa Bay Meets the Gulf of Mexico,\u201d SeaSeaPort Manatee is the closest U.S. deepwater seaport to the expanded Panama Canal, with 10 40-foot-draft berths serving container, bulk, breakbulk, heavylift, project and general cargo customers. The port generates more than $2.3 billion in annual economic impact for the local community, while supporting more than 24,000 jobs, without levying ad-valorem taxes.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalhubseaportmanatee.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2171"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalhubseaportmanatee.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalhubseaportmanatee.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalhubseaportmanatee.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalhubseaportmanatee.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2171"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalhubseaportmanatee.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2174,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalhubseaportmanatee.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2171\/revisions\/2174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalhubseaportmanatee.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalhubseaportmanatee.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalhubseaportmanatee.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalhubseaportmanatee.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}