Bringing Yungas Products to International Markets
Fairs Boost Recognition of Agricultural Products and Provide New Export Opportunities for Growers
At national and international fairs, the ambiance of a Yungas marketplace is recreated to stir the interest of all who pass by. Booths are constructed so that Yungas products may be displayed on wooden crates, umbrellas opened and lifted into place to create both color and the feel of shade, and banners are hung. As you walk through the marketplace, official hostesses in traditional Bolivian dress hand out informational materials and occasionally, folk musicians and dancers further accentuate the Yungeño atmosphere.
From behind one beekeeper's booth, you can see the live honey bees in glass-encased combs, showing off the real producers of the product. At another booth, the smell of the sausage sizzling in the pan seems ready for tasting. It's hard to resist the chocolate display, especially to complement the cup of Yungas-quality coffee you’re sipping.
But these exhibits are not intended solely for the senses. They are serious business for the growers who display their products — smoked sausage, chocolate made from organic cacao, honey, achiote, cheese, tea, stevia natural sweetener, bananas, and coffee — at national and international events.
ACDI/VOCA provided Yungas growers their first opportunity to experience national and international organic product exhibitions in September 2003, at the BIOFACH (Organic Market Development) Conference held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There, Bolivian farmers learned about the variety of organic products offered worldwide and their increasing market demand. They also gained knowledge of the quality standards and production levels needed to meet this demand.
Two months later, Bolivia hosted its annual National Handicrafts and Small Enterprise Fair in La Paz. This gave ACDI/VOCA the opportunity to create the ultimate Yungas marketplace experience.
With these initial experiences behind them, ACDI/VOCA staff members and four Yungas producers/entrepreneurs (two achiote, one cacao and one banana) ventured internationally to attend the 2004 BIOFACH (Organic Market Development Conference) in Nuremberg, Germany. For Rofelio Quispe, achiote cooperative AIPEAVE president and his post-harvest processing manager Mario Hilario, it was their first experience in Europe. The overall objective was to forge relationships with potential buyers in the higher-priced markets of Europe, the U.S. and Asia, and they were additionally able to increase their understanding of the requirements involved in international marketing.
In April 2004, ACDI/VOCA joined forces with alternative development partners from the Chapare region of Bolivia to expand farmer participation in national and international exhibitions at the 26th Hemispheric Congress of Latin American Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Miami, Florida. The theme for the YCADF/CONCADE exhibit was “Bolivia for a Drug-Free World,” reflecting the commitment of the Government of Bolivia and USAID to remove Bolivia from the narcotics circuit and enhance its national image abroad.
Other successful exhibits have included an inter-institutional alternative development display on the various USAID-funded projects at the Santa Cruz XXIX Exhibition Fair EXPOCRUZ 2004.
Participation in fairs gives Bolivian farmers opportunities to:
- learn about the variety of organic products offered worldwide,
- learn about the increasing market demand for such products,
- identify quality standards and production levels needed to meet the demand,
- view exhibits representing organic products from different countries around the world,
- increase their own product sales,
- increase awareness of products among potential customers,
- create new business contacts,
- participate in the business networking round-table discussions,
- follow-up on contacts already established with local, national,and international buyers,
- strengthen business links, and
- promote Bolivian products.
