The BID estimates that if Panama manages to capture only 1% of the imports that the United States makes from outside the Americas of products that Panama already exports to that market, it could generate an additional 1.9 billion.

The fracture of the supply chains between 2020 and 2021 due to issues of the pandemic, port congestion, lack of supplies such as semiconductors, even the paralysis of some ports of origin of the merchandise due to personnel infections, container shortages, among other factors. , made it clear that companies and suppliers must be closer to consumer markets in order to guarantee on-time delivery.

In this context, the opportunities that Panama has as a regional logistics center, with air, land and sea connectivity, are enormous, agree spokespersons from the public and private sectors who were present at the virtual forum: “Panama: The Center of America and its role in the strengthening of regional value chains”, organized by the Inter-American Development Bank IDB.

The president of the multilateral organization, Mauricio Claver-Carone, stressed that Panama, due to its logistics vocation, must further take advantage of the trend of bringing distribution centers closer to customers and for that it can attract more multinational and manufacturing companies that add value to products. products and shorten the path of supply chains.

“We are experiencing the largest realignment of global supply chains in history. This opened up a unique opportunity to attract more and better investments, and Panama is in a privileged position to do so. At the IDB we are proud to work with the Government of Panama in organizing the investment forum in 2022, as we promised six months ago. We are making all of our financial and technical resources available to attract investment to the country and, together, drive the kind of inclusive and sustainable growth that all Panamanians deserve,” said President Claver-Carone.

Specifically, he stated that Panama, just by capturing 1% of the imports that the United States makes from outside the Americas -of products that Panama already exports- could generate $1.9 billion in additional exports.

“At the IDB we believe that the possibilities are endless for Panama, this country is not only a global treasure for its beauty and biodiversity, but it is also a hub for the hemisphere and the world to be a logistics and transportation hub. The door between the Pacific and the Atlantic”, she limited.

The forum “Panama: The Center of America and its role in strengthening regional value chains”, had a virtual audience of more than 500 entrepreneurs and business leaders and public and private institutions.

The intervention of the Panamanian authorities and the representative of the IDB was joined by the panel moderated by Ana Margarita Reyes, coordinator of the Logistics Cabinet of Panama, which was made up of Enrique Aguirre, General Director for the Central America and Caribbean Region of 3M , Pedro Heilbron, CEO of Copa Airlines; Niurka Montero, General Manager of Dell Technologies – Panama; and Ricaurte Vásquez, CEO/Administrator of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP).

The general manager of 3M, Enrique Aguirre, highlighted how the company he leads has managed to produce in Panama and export to the region taking advantage of the competitive advantages of the logistics hub and pointed out that other companies can be attracted to the country.

The general manager of Dell in Panama, Niurka Montero, also highlighted how through the digital hub they offer services from the country and manage to streamline processes with new technologies that have allowed companies to reinvent themselves in the midst of a pandemic.

The executive president and CEO of Copa Airlines, Pedro Heilbron, highlighted that the companies are also betting on the air cargo market, not only as baggage for commercial passenger flights, but have already enabled one of the 737 aircraft to be a freighter and It has plans according to the demand of that market, to convert another plane into a freighter.

Likewise, a second panel was developed, made up of Vivian Carles, CEO – Panama of Grupo Bimbo; Juan Fernando Posada, president of P&G Latin America; Aimeé Sentmat de Grimaldo, president of Banistmo; Fabia Tetteroo-Bueno, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Philips Latin America; and Carmen Gisela Vergara, Executive Director of ProPanamá, who acted as moderator. The conclusions of the meeting were given by Rocío Medina Bolívar, IDB representative in Panama.

SOURCE: Martes Financiero