During his speech at the virtual General Assembly, attended by around 300 people, the Colombian President Iván Duque stated that the Agenda 2030 for the flower industry was upheld. He will work with Asocolflores to make it a national strategy, aiming at results in the short-term.
The President emphasized that the agricultural, foreign trade and sanitary authorities are working to accelerate the Agenda signed between the Government and Asocolflores in February. He said that the immediate objective is to continue strengthening the North American market, improving trade relations with Japan and increasing exports to Europe and China.
Referring to the challenges related to Covid-19, the President pointed out that “The symbol of the Colombian Flower is the symbol of hope and of our recovery”. He also recognized Asocolflores for its efforts towards the empowerment of rural women. He called for solidarity in the business sector to overcome the difficult situation that Colombia is going through as a result of the pandemic. “Let’s not think about going back to normal, let’s think about becoming better”, said the President.
‘Economy as necessary’
In turn, Augusto Solano, president of Asocolflores, stated that in facing the Coronavirus “Our actions have been guided by this slogan: health as priority and the economy as necessary”.
The Association’s leader emphasized that the main challenges facing the sector are to recover shipments to Europe, bring back demand from wholesalers in the United States and find solutions to lower capacity in air cargo transport and higher costs, due to the decrease in flights and additional cargo with medical elements and materials as a result of the pandemic.
Click here to read an interview with Augusto Solano on agenda 2030 in Floribusiness magazine.
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