Trade mission of importers of fresh products to Mexico

admin on April 2, 2018

Trade mission of importers of fresh goods to Mexico

Mexico, the leading economy of Latin America, has an especially interesting geostrategic position which turns it into the gateway to two very important economic zones: USA and Canada (NAFTA) and the Spanish-speaking countries. It is a large, Spanish-speaking country in Central America, with a population of 127 million. To illustrate, its capital, Mexico City, is a megacity with 20 million inhabitants, followed by Guadalajara and Monterrey with 5 million inhabitants, or Puebla and Toluca with 2 million each. Presently, a trade mission of importers of fresh goods to Mexico is being organised.

The organising entity

ASERCA organizes the trade mission of importers of fresh goods to Mexico in coordination with the Agricultural Ministry of SAGARPA for Europe.

Dates of the event

The trade mission of importers of fresh goods to Mexico will happen from 08. to 15. April, 2018.

Place of the event

The commercial mission will take place in the states Jalisco and Baja California.

Objectives of the program

The aims pursued to help the Mexican agro food producers are:

– To commercialize their products while entering new markets
– To offer an ad hoc instrument to consolidate new international markets
– Furthermore, to identify new business opportunities and new opportunities concerning improvement of production
– To know the technical innovations of the sector (machines, packaging, presentations)
– And, to reduce costs of the international prospection

Visitor’s profile

Buyers from Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy and Slovakia interested in taking up contact with companies that can offer the following products: avocado, mango, lemon, asparagus, grapefruit, berries (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry) and others.

Participant’s profile

In general, the trade mission of importers of fresh goods aims at those Mexican companies (natural or legal person), producers, retailers and/or distributors of the food growing industry, with the capacity of exporting.

Tariff related data with Mexico

Since the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Mexico and the European Union (FTA EU-MX) in 2000, Mexico can export agri-food products without tariffs.

Main Mexican exports of the agro-alimentary sector

In short, the main products being exported from Mexico to Europe in 2017 were: malt beer, coffee, avocado, tequila, honey, frozen orange juice, banana, raspberries, blackberries, mulberries, etc.

To find out more information please click here.

Other related information:

Trade mission of importers of honey to Mexico

Trade mission of coffee importers to Mexico

The business opportunities that Mexico offers

admin on March 30, 2018

Barcelona Export has very solid relationships in this market due to the multiple business possibilities that Mexico offers us. Mexico is the leading economy in Latin America, with a very interesting geostrategic position that makes it the gateway to two major economic zones: USA and Canada (NAFTA) in the north and the Spanish-speaking countries in the south. And it has free trade agreements, which are very favourable for our exports, with all of them.

Characteristics of the Mexican market

Mexico is a large, Spanish-speaking, Central American country with a population of 127 million, of which 80% live in cities and the remaining 20% in rural areas. 20% of the population live below the poverty line; about 60% of the population live in precarious conditions and only 30% live watching their purchasing power grow. It is a very young population (the average age is 26 years) with a strong mixture of indigenous and Spanish (60%).

Its capital, Mexico City, is a megacity with 20 million inhabitants, followed by Guadalajara and Monterrey with about 5 million inhabitants, or Puebla and Toluca with 2 million inhabitants each.

The population’s consumption is strongly dominated by North-American habits. Mexicans are loyal to brands and are influenced by quality as well as by price.

Customs duties

For those countries that cannot rely on any free trade agreement with Mexico, the tariffs of the industrial sector are in the range of 10% to 20%, sometimes as high as 35%.

Mexico signed a free trade agreement with the European Union in 2000 and since 2007 all industrial products are duty free. Furthermore, extending the tariff reduction to agri-food products is taken into consideration.

Mexico has a promoter of its export and import, Pro México. This organisation collects all the information concerning imports and exports, tariffs and norms. Furthermore, it is the organiser of the grouped participation of Mexican exhibitors at international fairs.

There is an Import Guide available on the website of Mexican Customs, which includes extensive information on customs management, authorizations, procedures (paperwork) and temporary imports:

http://www.sat.gob.mx/aduanas/importando_exportando/ (choose “Guía de importación”)

What can we export to Mexico?

Exporting to Mexico presents a great business opportunity for Spanish companies, since there is no language barrier and products coming from Spain benefit from acceptance and their good reputation in terms of quality. The cultural affinity allows us to create commercial relationships built on trust – stronger and faster.

Traditionally, we have been exporting the following products from Spain:

– Equipment, parts and components for the automotive industry
– Installation and engineering of power generation plants
– Aircrafts
– Women’s fashion
– Cars
– Steel products

When talking about new business opportunities we encounter strong demand in the following sectors:

– Infrastructure
– Transport
– Telecommunication
– Energy, especially wind and solar
– Industry 4.0
– Quality inspection systems
– Cyber-security
– Electronics
– Construction

The best sources to find suitable sales agents

admin on March 23, 2018

Before starting with the selection of agents, we recommend spending some time to compose a certain document. For instance, you can reflect the list of activities or complementary products of yours. With this in mind you will be able to find the most appropriate profiles. And then the searches for information will be more concrete.

What are the sources to find sales agents?

We make a list of the most common sources, in order of success ratio:

– International fairs of the sector. Through the list of exhibitors of the fairs you can find companies that manufacture complementary products or services. Through them, you can find the commercial networks that they have in each of the markets of your interest.

– Professional social networks. Such as LinkedIn, Viadeo (strong presence in France) or Xing (Strong presence in Germany) through which one can get a professional network in your sector. In addition to using them to locate the most relevant commercial agents, you can use them for publicity and to position yourself as experts or specialists through high quality content of interest

– Purchase database. There are companies that are dedicated to the sale of databases of commercial agents, repertoires by sector and activity. The biggest drawback is that in most cases theses databases are not up to date. It´s also possible that you find people in this databases that are retired, have changed their profession or who are currently commercial employees of a company.

– Study of competition. Following the competitors (consulting companies) helps in two ways. You learn which agent has a peer portfolio, which no longer works for the competition and which could be qualified for the product or service of your company.

– Associations of commercial agents and federations. Allow to put advertisements that are published among their associates to find appropriate profiles. Usually this method has a low response rate.

– The free search in Google. If you look for networks of companies in the consulting area, you may find company lists with international coverage area, which could help.

Other related information:

Aspects to consider for the selection of the sales agent

The sales agents meeting in Paris between Spanish metallurgical companies and French agents is coming to the end

B2B meetings between Spanish companies and French sales agents

Aspects to consider for the selection of the sales agent

admin on March 15, 2018

The sales agent is a key figure especially for those companies that offer a customized product / service. They need a good agent who knows how to identify opportunities and knows the clientele of their geographical area/ sector. Before starting with the selection of agents, we recommend spending some time to write a document where you reflect the list of activities or complementary products of your company to be able to find the most appropriate profiles.

What are the key aspects when selecting a sales agent?

There are certain key issues. Even though they are not definitive and may vary depending on the type of product. Also time of the export project or the need for market penetration are influencers. Thus we will show you the most important ones:

– Age: Young agents are dynamic and maintain a very proactive attitude. On the contrary, they may lack a deep knowledge of the market. On the other side, those whose age is close to retirement have extensive experience. Moreover, they have many contacts resulting from years of presence in the sector. With a simple call you can get quotes and open commercial doors. There is no recommended age and it will depend on the speed of market penetration that you want or need.

– Experience: Some agents have been sales agents throughout their professional career. Others may come from industry businesses, commercial sector etc. Some agents have made their professional career in the same sector, while others have been changing their course.

– Percentage of commission: It is important to know the different percentages of commissions for the various sectors. This is important to be able to negotiate adequately. In the industry we usually speak of a compensation of 3% to 8%. For interior products, for example, 10% to 15% (France, Spain).

– Portfolio of representation: It is important to know the existing portfolio in order to filter out the complementarity with the one from the company.

– Billing: It is important to know the level of billing (global or in commissions) to determine the value of the candidate you are interviewing. We often find sales agents that bill more than one national SME. This will also determine the interest that our portfolio may arouse, depending on the amount that can be invoiced with it.

– Geographic coverage area: No sales agent can adequately cover an entire country of large dimensions, such as Germany, France, Spain, Italy or the UK. It is advisable to limit the coverage area in addition to doing it by sectors.

– Typology of clientele: It is convenient to ask him about the type of client he worked with. The cadence of his routes and number of active clients that he has at the present time are also interesting.

– References: It is important that you can call any of the clients of the agent to request references and evaluate the degree of moral and professional integrity of the candidate.

– Structure: Some agents work completely alone while others associate with colleagues by creating representative agencies. The most common is to find agent who use back office or telephone support to their commercial prospecting.

– Languages: Although it is not a key aspect, it is always interesting to know what languages the candidate speaks if he has to interact with a neighboring market.

– Training: If the product / service is very technical it is important to know if the agent had a proper training and is qualified to work with it.

Another meeting for sales agents in France

admin on March 7, 2018

Barcelona Export organizes, once again, a meeting for sales agents in Paris, France. This is one of the fastest and most economic ways of finding agents and establishing a commercial network in a new international market.

What does the meeting for commercial agents consist of?

A group of minimum 10 companies, which are looking for sales agents in a foreign market, has – thanks to this type of program – the opportunity to get to know various independent sales agents that suit its profile in just one day in a European city. This time, it is the turn of France, the European market that is most demanded by Spanish companies.

Which procedure is used?

After getting together with each of the participants, we establish their profiles to determine the most adequate type of sales agents for each case.

Then we will search and filter the candidates and validate them together with the companies.

Finally, we will travel to Paris in order to conduct interviews with the different selected sales agents. Barcelona Export will travel with various consultants in order to support translations and international negotiations.

We will conclude our meeting for commercial agents by returning to Barcelona at the end of the day.

Further available services

At Barcelona Export, we can offer other complementary services after the implementation of the meeting for commercial agents, such as:

– Negotiation of international contracts: We propose contract models, taking into account the most important clauses, according to the French legislation.

– Service of monitoring offers and orders generated by the commercial agents: Some of our clients face difficulties with the target language and require a service of monitoring and translating the actions that are developing in the new market.

– Long commercial guidance of 12 months with the goal of prospecting final clients and being able to set interviews between the people in charge of purchasing in the companies and the new selected commercial agents. We intend to make the portfolio more attractive for agents and to be more incisive during the commercial prospections at the beginning of the relationship.

Which services and products does France demand the most?

– Consumer goods
– Vehicles
– Hydrocarbons
– Pharmaceutical products
– Food
– Industrial subcontracting

Step up and have a go! We are waiting for you…

Do you want to query more information related to this service?

Barcelona Export organizes a Meeting of sales agents in Germany

B2B meetings between Spanish companies and French sales agents

The sales agents meeting in Paris between Spanish metallurgical companies and French agents is coming to the end

Barcelona Export leads an export group of the chemical sector in France

admin on March 5, 2018

Exporting alone is always a tough challenge. And if our assortment is limited, we do not always get the attention of the contact persons that would be of greatest interest for us: The persons in charge of the most important purchasing groups or the persons in charge of the purchasing of the major chemical groups in France. Thanks to the export group of the chemical sector we managed to increase the responsiveness.

But, of whom does this export group consist?

Our export group is composed of the following companies:

– Seven Seas S.L: Manufacturer of pumps for the chemical process with magnetic drive, homogenizers, mixers and micronizers; targeting the chemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industry.

– Olmos Maquinaria: Manufacturer of complete packaging lines for liquid products (without carbonic acid) and rigid packaging; targeting the chemical, petrochemical and food industry.

– Esteryfil: Manufacturer of all kinds of filters for liquids; targeting the chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, perfume and food industry.

– GMS SISTEMAS: Manufacturer of packaging solutions such as intelligent robots for the packaging of sensitive and small pieces like positioners; targeting the chemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, perfume and food industry.

And which advantages does it bring?

This export group of the chemical sector offers, in many cases, different types of equipment that is used in the same production plant and for the same production process by acting as complementary products.

Thanks to the group, we managed to reinforce the range of products that we presented to our interlocutors.

We succeeded in reducing the costs of the international prospection, which are shared by the 4 companies.

Furthermore, one could benefit of the exchange of experiences between the different participants.

Last but not least, it allowed the participation at leading fairs of the sector as group.

What are the work dynamics?

The export group starts with a group meeting which allows the different participating companies to get to know each other and to establish their own synergies.

In fact, follow-up group meetings are held once every trimester.

Every export group counts on a managing director, who is the one leading the actions of the group and carrying out the prospection in the target market.

The manager remains in constant communication by phone and mail with each of the participants of the group. He is the person in charge of the prospections and the one who exchanges offers, quotations and requests between the parties.

An export group prospects the same market within 12 months by addressing various sales channels, such as: Commercial agents and/or distributors and final customers.

Which role does the group manager play?

The group manager is not only the leader of the group and the one who carries out the prospection, but also the person in charge of ensuring a good atmosphere between the participants and of limiting tensions that might arise. Furthermore, he/she leads the meetings and provides the information that he/she has received from the target market.

He/she is the integrating element and the one that gives dynamism to the group. He/ She not only contributes his/ her knowledge and solutions to the emerging demands but also the mastery of the language of the target market.

For more information related to export groups, continue reading here:

Barcelona export leads a subcontracting Export group to sell in the French market

The visit to Sial Paris 2016: great success of the exporting group of the Maresme

In Barcelona Export we are experts in the leading of export groups

Export Training: the Export Consortium

Vinisud 2018, the French trade-show of the Mediterranean wines

admin on February 26, 2018

As each year, Vinisud, the trade-show of the Mediterranean wines took place in Montpellier. The 18,19 and 20 of February 2018 the producers of Mediterranean wines welcomed the most important buyers from the 5 continents, during a trade-show which is considered as one of the most important competition in the world of wine.

Some figures about Vinisud

This edition 2018, the last to take place in Montpellier gathered 1500 exhibitors from various Mediterranean countries (France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Portugal, Greece, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Israel, Lebanon, Cyprus, Malta, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Macedonia …) to give the world some 26 000 references of still wines, sparkling wines, pearled wines, cavas and champagnes. The next edition of the Vinisud trade-show, in 2019 will take place in Paris.

The world trend in wines

The general trend of the trade-show was the one of the responsible and durable techniques. And that is the reason why the presence of organic wines is increasingly strong. That is also why the fermentation processes without chemical ingredients are growing. Thus, buyers who were looking for wines without added sugar, without wine alcohol, with little or no barrel, with little batonnage to not tire the wines, balanced, fresh and lights were very numerous. The samples of rosés from Provence were very extensive as well as the Italian Prosecco, which competes directly with our cava and that has greatly increases its sales lately. We have also been able to confirm the good reputation of the Spanish wines and more specifically the Catalans wines, very often more valued for being lighter and easier to drink in new markets with a small culture of wine.

The presence of Barcelona Export

We attended the Vinisud Trade-show in the name of our client Bouquet d’Alella, a producer DO Alella of certificated organic wines which with 14 hectares of cultivated vineyards has high quality wines, in the spirit of the new world trends : low graduation wines, balanced, fresh, light, without additives, with very little barrel.

Barcelona Export has been responsible for contracting the space, decorating the stand, creating a contact agenda to organize meetings with buyers from various countries such as Finland, Norway, Sweden, France, Poland, the USA, the UK and Costa Rica.

We had also accompanied our client during all the days of the trade-show in order to help with the translations and the international negotiations. To finish our service we managed the sending of the emails of thanks after the trade-show and the relevant following of each of the contact generated by the event.

We wish Bouquet d’Alella a lot of success in the international markets and we are convinced that it will arrive very soon.

Barcelona Export organizes a Meeting of sales agents in Germany

admin on February 16, 2018

Germany is one of the founding countries of the European Union, one of the leading industrial powers worldwide and offers to our companies a market of 82 million potential clients. And that’s why we have decided to organize a Meeting of Sales Agents in Germany through the Metal Cluster, Metallurgic Center.

The informative session on January, 25th 2018

On the last 25th January 2018 took place the presentation of this program with an informative session about the country, the market and its commercial opportunities for our companies. The meeting was organized by the Metallurgic Center, in the CECOT buildings in Terrassa and brought together a group of 25 SMEs interested in commercializing its products or services in the German market.

Which kind of companies has participated?

The participating group was very diversified and brought together companies from various sectors and activities such as:

– Industrial engineering
– Kitchen and bathroom fittings
– Reconditioning machines and packaging
– Electrical material
– Medical and veterinary equipment
– Solar protection
– Industrial subcontracting

What exactly is our searching program of sales agent in Germany?

First of all, each participating company meets the consultant in order to define the sales agent´s profile that interests them the most. General lines of work are set to make the consultant more efficient during the process.

Next, the consultant prepares each of the short presentations of the company that will be used for broadcasting and presenting the portfolio to the different sales agents selected. At the same time, the different sales agents that are interesting for each company will be searched, selected and filtered. The final candidates will be presented to the companies, through commercial data sheets that gather all the information related to their potential, so that the participating companies can validate them.

Finally, the interviews with the validated final candidates will be set. The interviews will take place on a single day, in a German city.

The logistics behind the Meeting of Sales Agents in Germany (B2B)

A day at the end of May 2018 has been chosen to carry out the Meeting of Sales Agents in Germany. The companies will travel the night before to Stuttgart, the city where the meeting with the sales agents will take place. Barcelona Export will take charge of hotel and meeting room reservations.

During the meeting day, each participant will have a table in the meeting room prepared for that purpose and the planning of the scheduled interviews. During the day, each one will receive at its table the sales agents interested in its portfolio. Barcelona Export will help the companies with several consultants to facilitate translations and negotiations in German language.

Once the day is over, the same day, we will go back to Barcelona and the companies will finish the negotiation of their own contracts by their own. As a supplementary support, Barcelona Export will also offer its service of text translations (internet, brochure, technical specification sheets…) as well as the international contract negotiation service with the German sales agents.

If you wish to have further information please visit Independent Sales Agents

Helps available when exporting

admin on February 1, 2018

One of the biggest challenges a SME has to face when it wants to reach new markets is the funding of its internationalization. Exporting represents an important cost in terms of commercial prospecting, samples dispatch, qualified languages staff, international certification, trips, international exhibitions, etc. But fortunately, companies can get some helps available when exporting: The ICO Credits (Initial Coin Offering).

What are the ICO Credits?

These are credit lines for companies in order to finance the internationalisation and exportation process of the national companies. Credits are requested through banking institutions assigned with each program. They are in charge of the processing, study and approval of requests according to conditions set by the ICO. They also bear the risk.

What are the credit lines available for the exporter activity?

International ICO 2018

These are funds designed for Spanish or mixed companies with at least 30% of Spanish capital, which make productive investments in the international markets and/or need to cover their cash flow requirements.

The Section II of the credit line is destined to the complementary allocation of Supplier, Buyer and Financial Credit to companies.

More information

ICO Exporters 2018

They are funds for self-employed people and Spanish companies which need to get cash flow by the anticipation of receipts which come from their exportations or by the cover of the production cost of the goods they intend to export.

More information

ICO International Channel 2018

This is a financing intended for self-employed people and companies to support their internationalisation process.

The main news this product incorporates regarding the ICO International Service or ICO Exporters is that credits can be requested in the local bank or in international entities which have headquarters in the countries where the investment projects or the export activity occurs.

More information

Other related information:

We already have the new Internationalization Coupons!

New export subsidies: Cupons d’internationalització 2016

Barcelona Export wishes you a Merry Christmas 2017

admin on December 14, 2017

The international consulting agency Barcelona Export wishes you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year 2018 !

We remind you that our offices will be closed from the 22th December to the 2^nd January 2018.

See you in January 2018 …..and with new export projects !

The organising entity

Dates of the event

Place of the event

Objectives of the program

Visitor’s profile

Participant’s profile

Tariff related data with Mexico

Main Mexican exports of the agro-alimentary sector

Other related information:

Characteristics of the Mexican market

Customs duties

What can we export to Mexico?

Traditionally, we have been exporting the following products from Spain:

When talking about new business opportunities we encounter strong demand in the following sectors:

Other related links:

What are the sources to find sales agents?

Other related information:

What are the key aspects when selecting a sales agent?

What does the meeting for commercial agents consist of?

Which procedure is used?

Further available services

Do you want to query more information related to this service?

But, of whom does this export group consist?

And which advantages does it bring?

What are the work dynamics?

Which role does the group manager play?

For more information related to export groups, continue reading here:

Some figures about Vinisud

The world trend in wines

The presence of Barcelona Export

The informative session on January, 25th 2018

Which kind of companies has participated?

What exactly is our searching program of sales agent in Germany?

The logistics behind the Meeting of Sales Agents in Germany (B2B)

Other related links:

What are the ICO Credits?

What are the credit lines available for the exporter activity?

International ICO 2018

ICO Exporters 2018

ICO International Channel 2018

Other related information:

The international consulting agency Barcelona Export wishes you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year 2018 !