On September 29, the Paraguayan Industrial Union (UIP) presented the results of a study that identified the weaknesses of Paraguay’s foreign trade system and opportunities for improvement.
The Mapping and Systematization of Foreign Trade Processes project was executed in Paraguay by the Procomex Institute and was financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) of Brazil for the maritime-river and land modes; subsequently financed by the United States Department of Agriculture, within the framework of the T-FAST project for the air mode, with the leadership and local coordination of the Paraguayan Industrial Union.
This study, conducted between 2018, 2019 and 2022, has had the active participation of Guaran Feeder S.A. and other 319 members of the private sector, involving more than 15 unions, who worked collaboratively with more than 150 public officials (authorities and heads of area) representing 27 public institutions, in several working days where the different challenges or opportunities for improvement in the processes were identified and consensual solutions were established for them.
Paraguay thus becomes the first country in South America to have mapped all its foreign trade channels, obtaining a tool that marks the way forward to facilitate foreign trade processes, through the optimization of its processes, costs and resources to become a strategic trading partner for the world.
Creation of the “GM COMEX” of the Paraguayan Industrial Union (UIP)
As a result of the first mapping work carried out in Paraguay and with the support of the Paraguayan Industrial Union (UIP), in 2019 a multidisciplinary working group called “GM COMEX” was created, made up of professionals who perform different activities related to foreign trade, whose main objective is to implement the opportunities for improvement found during the aforementioned analysis and currently, through the Paraguayan Industrial Union, also actively participates in the National Committee for Trade Facilitation of Paraguay.
Martin Baez, Commercial Manager of Guaran Feeder S.A., who participated in the meetings in which the processes were studied, is part of this working group, and leaves us a comment regarding this completed project:
¨Foreign trade is a very important factor in Paraguay’s development and the mapping has provided a unique tool to focus on what needs to be improved to make Paraguay not only more efficient internally, but also more competitive in the world market.
Thanks to what was done, the private sector works in coordination with the different leaders of the public sector for the implementation of solutions to the problems we face in the Comex, so that gradually we will see positive changes in the different processes of import and export.¨
Martin Báez.