- Posted on: December 7, 2020
The European Union (EU) is with 512 million people a great export destination, and its member states and national economies make for a huge internal market. Within the EU, Germany has the largest population (83 million) and tens of thousands of top companies, wholesalers and importers – all of them constantly on the lookout for new and exciting products.
Especially the demand for natural foods and ingredients is driven by an increasing demand from consumers and the food industry, but also from the pharmaceutical and cosmetic sectors. The German market for natural cosmetics is expanding by almost 10% every year.
In partnership with EuroCham Cambodia and the German Business Group (ADW), the GIZ programmes Global Business Network (GBN) and ARISE+ have started a cooperation with the Import Promotion Desk (IPD) in Germany. The initiative helps to prepare exporters for their access to the EU market and provides them with direct contacts to European importers or buyers. The aim of the initiative is to increase the value creation potential for Cambodian producers and to enable long-term export relationships with European importers.
Cambodia’s leading exporters joined a training on EU opportunities and requirements for the food and beverages sector in October. The event focused on the export of natural ingredients, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics – and how Cambodian companies can begin to unlock the EU market. Some of those companies were selected to present their products, such as the famous Kampot pepper and dried fruits, in virtual B2B events to European importers in November.
Furthermore, representatives of business associations learnt in November how they could support Cambodian companies in getting export ready. Participants learned about the scale of the EU food and beverages market, the opportunities and challenges it presents, and had a chance to ask questions directly to an expert on EU Imports.
The initiative will extend its activities in the next months. It will further identify exportable products and producers and arrange contacts with the import industry.
For further information please contact Bianca Untied (globalbusinessnetwork@adw-cambodia.org).
Import Promotion Desk (IPD)
The Import Promotion Desk (IPD) is an initiative for import promotion in Germany.
The IPD fulfils a hinge function between small and medium-sized enterprises in selected emerging markets and developing countries on the one hand and European importers on the other. The objective is to integrate the partner countries into global trade, thereby contributing towards sustainable economic development in these countries.
IPD introduces exporters to the EU market and assists them in setting up trading relations. For European importers, the IPD opens up new supply sources and assists them in the procurement process for specific products.
The IPD is currently active in 13 countries: Egypt, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Colombia, Nepal, Peru, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and Ukraine.
The IPD focusses on specific product groups: fresh fruit and vegetables, natural ingredients for foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, technical wood, cut flowers and sustainable tourism.
IPD has been established and implemented by sequa GmbH – the globally operating development organisation of German industry. It collaborates closely with the Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA.).
IPD is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Further information at www.importpromotiondesk.de.