Prodeca reviews 2022: serving one in four Catalan agri-food companies

During the presentation of Catalonia's 2022 agri-food export results, Prodeca's director, Ramon Sentmartí, reviewed the organisation's 2022 activities. It closed the year having run more than 60 international trade activities, serving 1,700 companies with a repeat rate of almost 50% (half the companies Prodeca served took part in one or more further activities). 

"Through Prodeca, the Department has served one in four companies in the sector, diversifying services and types of activity and placing great importance on business meetings: last year we organised more than 750 B2B meetings between Catalan producers and international buyers from more than 15 markets. We have strengthened the presence of trade agents in strategic markets, always with the aim of supporting Catalan agri-food companies in their international promotion", said Prodeca's managing director, Ramon Sentmartí. 

Results of the main trade activities

Prodeca organised the joint participation of more than 360 companies at 19 international fairs in 2022, under the agri-food brand "Catalonia, where food is culture". Taking part in international fairs makes it easier to find importers or distributors and is a useful tool for establishing trade contacts. These fairs are a meeting point with customers and a platform for brand communication.

Continuing the commitment begun in previous years to explore new virtual and innovative formats to respond quickly to international contacts and establish an alternative supply circuit, Prodeca organised 10 B2B business meetings, in the eBusiness With format (a trade promotion approach designed to spread Catalan companies' offer among the leading retail chains in strategic markets), Business Missions (business trips to Catalonia by purchasing managers to boost business meetings with Catalan companies) and Local Buyers Networking (a business event connecting Catalan producers with large-retail buyers and distributors in a quick-meeting format). In all, Prodeca planned more than 600 meetings between 41 buyers from 9 different countries and 300 participating Catalan companies. 

Another type of business meeting is the Business Forum format, a sector business-matching platform between distributors from selected countries and Catalan agri-food companies. In 2022 Lleida hosted the 1st Olive Oil Business, where Prodeca connected 19 olive oil producers with buyers from 4 markets (the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Taiwan), resulting in more than 150 meetings. 

Prodeca has also stepped up the organisation of point-of-sale promotions in Germany, Mexico and South Korea. These involve displaying Catalan products in retail outlets alongside a Catalan food tasting area, to encourage consumers in those markets to buy. In 2022, more than 300 product lines from 83 companies were placed in the 4 point-of-sale promotions at El Colmado and the Spanien an der Donau fair (Germany), Palacio del Hierro (Mexico) and the Hyundai supermarkets (South Korea). 

Catalan cuisine was in fact the focus of as many as 14 'Catalan Food' events promoting companies in various strategic markets such as the United States, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia, Italy and Mexico, promoting food culture through a culinary event featuring Catalan chefs. In this case, as many as 213 companies took part with Prodeca in this type of initiative , which aims to generate commercial connections with potential buyers at the event. 

Most of these international promotion activities start from Catalan companies registering in trade catalogues, which in many cases are a first contact for setting up a product supply circuit. In 2022 there were 7 trade catalogues in 7 different markets, with as many as 570 Catalan companies registered. 

Local competitiveness projects

Locally, and with the aim of taking an active part in local initiatives related to Catalan cuisine as a tool for adding value and improving the positioning of Catalan products and companies in the sector, Prodeca was present at 11 Catalan food fairs and events, organising the joint participation of up to 150 companies at three of them. These local competitiveness activities are complemented by the initiatives Benvinguts a Pagès, the weekend when farms across Catalonia open their doors to show where our food comes from, which in 2022 drew more than 34,000 visitors and 600 participating farms, and Gastroteca, the leading digital catalogue of Catalan agri-food products, with more than 3,000 registered players and more than 400 Catalan products.

Prodeca works on spreading the culture of internationalisation and on promoting Catalan agri-food products by organising technical sessions and seminars. The Knowledge and Strategy Area ran 21 training sessions, 15 online and 6 in person, with almost 1,150 companies registered and more than 1,200 views on the YouTube channel. Participants received them very positively, with an average score of 8.2 out of 10. 

A network in strategic markets through Catalan Government Delegations and offices

In line with its aim of guiding agri-food companies in their international expansion, Prodeca has consolidated its support for companies directly in destination markets, with professionals experienced in the sector, both in Catalonia and in the destination country. In 2022 it had a network of Catalan Government Delegations and offices in strategic markets to strengthen advice and support for companies seeking to establish or consolidate their presence in those countries, especially in Mexico, Germany, the United States, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Eurasia, China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore.

For 2023, Prodeca has set its calendar of activity in 13 target markets — strategic countries that currently account for more than half of world food consumption and offer growth potential of over 13% for the next three years. These markets are Germany, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Colombia, South Korea, the United States, Ghana, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, China and the Mediterranean basin countries. Prodeca plans to strengthen its projects in these markets with specific trade activities, such as the Catalan Food Business Forum to be held in Barcelona from 12 to 14 June. 

Another new development is the launch of the Agri-food Export Barometer, a , a quarterly monitoring tool for the most relevant business figures on the export activity of Catalonia's agri-food sector. The first wave of the Barometer is due to be published in early April and will cover the main activity, product and destination data for Catalan agri-food companies in the first quarter of 2023. The Barometer will include qualitative data from a panel of 100 representative companies and will complement the quantitative export figures for the sector as a whole.