Project aimed at Strengthening the National Industry Starts

With the presentation of the Competitive Agroindustry Project, the training phase of 100 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the country was officially started, which in the coming months will receive technical assistance, which will allow them to improve their business and production capacities, as part of the National Government actions aimed at accompanying our producers, boosting the economy and strengthening the national industry.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank the representatives of the institutions, unions, competitiveness centers, as well as advisers and banking entities, who will accompany us in the execution of the National Industrial Competitiveness Program (PNCI) and, especially, in its first flagship project. This is a sample that the joint effort between the public and private sectors allows us to maximize the opportunities of our productive sectors. This is the correct way, joining forces as a country to overcome the challenges, not only those that the situation in which we live has imposed on us today, ”said the Minister of Commerce and Industries (MICI), Ramón Martínez in his speech.

The MICI leads this initiative, which benefits 55 companies from central provinces, 23 from Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro and 22 from Panama, Panama Oeste and Colón, of which 30% are dedicated to the production of cheeses and yogurts. Also, agroindustries that process legumes, fruits and vegetables, coffee, honey, meat, among others, participate. Several of these items "are sensitive and require that impulse to increase their competitiveness," said Martínez.

Currently, this sector is crucial to ensure the socio-economic development of the country. In this sense, the head of the MICI reported that more than 50% of the industry in Panama is food, and more than 35% of our exportable supply is agro-industrial.