Contact us

News

The first Online Trade Mission to the Kingdom of the Netherlands: a new format for expanding export opportunities for SMEs in the food industry

28 September 2020

The 5-day program to expand trade opportunities for Ukrainian small and medium-sized enterprises in the Dutch market consisted of two parts - preparatory and actual business-to-business (B2B) meetings. Among the participants of the mission: Ukrainian producers of fruits and berries (FE «Gadz», Galfrost LLC, AMC «Yahidky»), cereals (Dobrodiya Foods LLC, Skvyrskyi grain processing factory LTD, Organic Original LLC, Terra LLC), nuts (Arkmen LLC, Ukr-Walnut LTD) and encapsulated products (Food Developer LLC).

As part of the preparatory stage for the trade mission, on September 21 the companies took part in a special briefing, which prepared them to enter a new export market, studied the features of negotiations with potential partners, considered additional opportunities to find customers in foreign markets and tested their readiness for export. Also, experts from the State Institution «Export Promotion Office of Ukraine»conducted an online review of food products in Dutch supermarkets based on the Mintel database.

During the briefing, Deputy Minister for Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine – Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka, said: «Trade policy and the state play an important role in supporting entrepreneurship and establishing international relations. This is noticeable when agreeing on certain trade rules and obligations, as well as when recognizing certificates. The Dutch market is the best example of understanding what commerce is and knowledge of how to establish relationships, package products and how small companies can collaborate and sell products through a large network of suppliers. Therefore, business and the state must interface. And such a trade mission allows to demonstrate the potential of Ukrainian enterprises and worthily present their products on the European market».

Drawing attention to the importance of supporting trade missions and their impact on the development of Ukrainian exports, Director, USAID Office of Economic Growth Farhad Ghaussy, noted: «The United States Agency for International Developmentsupports small and medium-sized enterprises in Ukraine because they contribute to economic development. Through the USAID Competitive Economy Program, we implement a wide range of measures to strengthen the competitiveness of Ukrainian small and medium enterprises. The online trade mission to the Kingdom of the Netherlands is a great opportunity for food industry SMEs to find foreign partners and potential customers. We hope that by participating in the mission, the business will improve management practices, adapt its marketing approach, develop strategies and develop its business by increasing export sales».

The preparatory briefing was also attended: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Kingdom of the Netherlands Vsevolod Chentsov, Brussels office Director, Ukrainian Business & Trade Association Nazar Bobytskyi, Acting Director, Export Promotion Office of Ukraine Tetyana Miskova, Expert Enterprise Europe Network Alina Strilets, Managing Director Phaff Export Marketing B.V. Victor Phaff, Founder 2Food company Tony-Wim van Eijden.

The second part of the trade mission was devoted to B2B meetings. From September 22 to 25, about 60 individual meetings were held with representatives of28Dutch companies, and separately with the European retail chain Jumbo.

The initiative "Trade mission of Ukrainian food industry enterprises to the Kingdom of the Netherlands" has been implemented Ukraine Investment & Trade Facilitation Center(ITFC)in partnership with theState Institution «Export Promotion Office of Ukraine»with the support of the USAID Competitive Economy Program (CEP).

 

***

The Program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Competitive Economy Programsupports startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to increase their competitiveness in Ukraine's domestic and international markets, and helps build a simplified and transparent business climate, and promotes effective trade policy to enable SMEs to reap the benefits of international trade.

Back to news