The document discusses opportunities for Colombian exporters of exotic fruits to expand into new markets like the Czech Republic. It provides an overview of the Czech retail market segmentation and existing trade channels. It also offers guidance on direct business practices for Colombian exporters, including promotion strategies, website development, trade fair participation, finding potential buyers through industry databases, terms of delivery, payment methods, and how to structure export contracts.

1. REQUISITOS DE COMPRADORES
Flores Exóticas
Part II: Export guidelines – diversifying markets
• Going East – Czech Republic case
 Why to venture into new markets
 Trade channels
 Existing and future opportunities
• Business practices
 Product marketing
 Delivery, payment, services

2. Venturing into new markets
• Unexplored and unexploited
• Alternative to saturated markets
• Smaller companies  targetting smaller buyers
• Pioneering
• Expanding markets, finding new clients
• Framework of Free Trade Agreement with the European Union

3. Going East – main markets
• Main East-European destinations for exotic fruits:
 Czech Republic LITHUANIA
DENMARK
0%
0%
 Bulgaria LUXEMBOURG
PORTUGAL
0%
5%
SPAIN
 Poland
9%
AUSTRIA 0%
POLAND 0%
BULGARIA 0%
CZECH REPUBLIC 0%
SWEDEN 0%
UNITED KINGDOM 0%
ITALY 0%
GERMANY 3%
BELGIUM 0%
FRANCE 1%
NETHERLANDS 12%
0 5 10 15 20 25
• Segmentation
 Large retail chains are the main segment
 The catering industry
 Small retailers are losing ground

4. Colombia European Czech retail market
market
West - Czech
Small retailers
European wholesalers
specialised
Colombian exporters supply
importers
1
Northwest European specialised
importers, which re-export the Catering
products to the Czech market. industry
Czech
Colombian 3 mainstream
exporters DIRECT SUPPLIES: POSSIBLE?
importers
Colombian exporters supply Large retailers
Northwest European mainstream
2
importers, which re-export the
productsWest-European
to the Czech market.
mainstream
importers
Main distribution flow
Secondary distribution flow

5. Direct supplies – Possible?
Colombian exporters supply Czech mainstream importers, which supply the Czech market.
Opportunities
– Czech buyers are interested in consolidated orders of different exotic fruits
(Colombia’s competitive advantage)
– Growing market due to increase of disposable income
– Holiday season provides window of opportunity to establish trade relations
(stepwise approach)
Challenges
– Small demand  Lack of scale required for cost-efficient transport of exotic fruit
– Underdeveloped infrastructure (lack of good flight connections from South
America to the Czech Republic)

6. Promotion – crucial step
Heavy promotion is required for the realisation of sufficient demand for direct imports
• Promotion at the retail level
 Store promotions – tasting, explanation of use, recipe ideas in Czech language
 Colombian week?
 Specialty shelves
 Promotion in cooking programmes / Internet / Social media
 Trade fairs
 QR-codes on product label  unification of technologies

7. Promotion – crucial step
• Promotion at the wholesale level
 Accurate product description
(EU or UN standards) - www.codexalimentarius.org
 Photos of the product and packaging
 Delivery capacity per year per product
(supply calendar)
 Possible delivery dates
 Information about the available storage and processing facilities
 Branding (company’s logo, revealing reputation)
 Export references
 Quality certificates (e.g. GlobalGAP, HACCP ,BRC, etc)
 Contact details (on brochures, website)
Example of a supply calendar:
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Product

8. Product marketing - website
• Website – doing good, and causing no harm
 High-quality websites are associated with modern, professional approach
 Website should include:
o well-defined product characteristics
o strenghts of your company, such as certificates, specific story, quality and
delivery systems, etc.
 History and track record
 Product presentations, catalogues, brochures (thus also saving printing costs)
@ Good example: Frutierrez

9. Product marketing – trade fairs
Important events
• Fruit Logistica - www.fruitlogistica.de - world's leading fresh fruit and vegetable trade
fair. Takes place every year in Berlin, Germany.
• Biofach- www.biofach.de - most important international exhibition for organic food and
fair trade products held every year in Nürnberg, Germany.

10. How else to find potential buyers?
Interesting sources – Internet databases & marketplaces
• FreshPlaza - www.freshplaza.com
meeting place for the international fresh produce industry.
• Foods for Trade - www.foodsfortrade.com
leading B2B marketplace for the food industry.
• Greentrade - www.greentrade.net
online marketplace with the worlds’ largest database of the organic
farming industry.
• Zipmec - www.zipmec.eu
largest search engine for fruit and vegetable companies in Europe
Information sources: Eurofruit Magazine, Fresh Info

11. Terms of delivery and payment
If required…
• Sampling Pesticide control!
 Rare
 Buyers assume traders are familiar with the product standards Samples which represent
 Not willing to pay for samples what you can deliver:
-Quality
• Terms of delivery -Quantity
-Time
 Lead time: 3 days (air transport)
- Packaging material
 Incoterms:
o quote your prices Free-On-Board (FOB) in the case of sea transport and CFR/CIF in
case of air transport.
o pay attention to strict contract fulfilment regarding contingencies during export
procedures, transport, etc.
• Insurance: costs are approximately 4 %
 Valuable when product quality is compromised during transport
 Costs cannot be reimbursed if damage results from factors which cannot be
controlled, e.g. volcanic ash
 Make sure there are thermometers installed on board or on the pallets

12. Terms of delivery and payment
• Contracts
 Buyers prefer open accounts
 Communication serves as a formal agreement(e.g. e-mails)
 Non-compliance
Contract example: International Trade Centre
• Terms of payment
 Trade of small quantities- fixed prices
 Trade of large quantities - on the basis of consignment.
 Price-fixing more common in the holiday season
 Pre-financing is more common for partners who already did business together
 Payment documents (involving 3rd parties) are often avoided in the fresh fruit trade
 Payment takes place within 2 weeks
 Every delivery should be accompanied by an official customs invoice for customs
declaration

13. Not to forget…

14. Gustavo Ferro
mail@ThisIsProFound.com