The president of the Venezuelan Association of Exporters (AVEX), Ramón Goyo, indicated that since 2021, to date, there is a growth of 50% with 2 billion 600 million dollars, due to a rebound effect because between 2019 and 2020 the country obtained the lowest levels of foreign trade, a product of the pandemic and other difficulties, but that currently increased after the increase in international market prices.
Venezuelan Exporters Association Forecasts US$3 Billion in Operations by 2023
—That was also observed in 2022, our estimates are 3 billion dollars for this year based on the actual figures of the previous year,” he commented while stressing that if that budget is maintained– we are without major inconvenience at the levels of 3 billion.”
—Also, the price in the domestic market had been reduced and the only alternative that Venezuelan companies had to increase production was to go to foreign trade–, said Goyo.
During an interview with the morning program TV “Primera Página”, broadcasted by Globovisión, he pointed out that the fundamental points that have been discussed with the national Executive have been the facilitation of exports by applying the reduction of the times in which the transfer of the merchandise in ships is carried out, as well as in the loading and unloading of the same, which generate more costs to the State.
—We must optimize these processes and that the effort made by companies, both public and private, is not lost and the degree of competitiveness is preserved due to the time and prices generated by the delay of these port procedures,– he said.
—We have been proposing the Foreign Trade Single Window, which is a digital platform through which all import and export processes are carried out.
In it you can communicate with all the institutions that are part of it and that the information reaches the institutions that have to do with that, thus facilitating that amount of documentation that is requested for each export,– he said.
He added that it is important for Venezuela to be in tune with the average and how the main ports are in the rest of the world concerning the countries with which it competes because otherwise, there is a risk of losing the customs process due to the power of Seniat (Venezuela’s tax authority), which is the agency in charge of leading exports.
What does Venezuela currently export?
Goyo specified that the private sector is the one that exports mainly sea products such as shrimps, prawns and fresh fish, in particular crab last year was the main crustacean exported to the United States.
—Wood, leather, cocoa, chocolate and automotive parts, are also part of the list of products that are marketed in other countries. The State also began to recover the export of steel and aluminum which are mainly taken to the US, the European Union and Canada, which are extremely demanding countries because when placing a perishable product it is a huge effort that is made,– he said.
He underlined that the sanctions affect exports —due to decisions of overvaluation of the receiving companies, they can close the door to a company or supplier, not to sell us a certain product or that a client tells us that he is at risk doing business with Venezuela.
—It is difficult to export because the company must create a competitive product in that nation, but it is also necessary to locate the market niches and once you find it you must homologate the product to that niche, but you also have to differentiate yourself to be able to compete with better quality, prices, presentation, these are the essential variables that the producer must take into account–, he explained.
Ministry of Foreign Trade
The president of the Venezuelan Exporters Association of Venezuela expressed that they have been working together with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and agreed on the issue of simplification of procedures for the commercialization of products in other countries.
—We have been working on trade relations with Colombia, we have also talked about the need to improve access to export products to all Latin American countries, review and update agreements to the south and seek agreements with Central America and the Dominican Republic that will allow us to have access to those markets–, he said.
