CBI-News Juli/Aug 298

CBI)( News 

BULLETIN 

News, views and backgrounds 

July/August 2004 No 298 

DOUBLES, ANYONE? 

A new series on teaming up companies 

Europe 25: Business in the Baltics 

BRAND-NEW ECUADOR 

A seminar on country branding 

centre for the promotion of imports from developing countries 

The CBI and the 

ripples in the pond 

Barbara Joziasse’s farewell to 

‘a company to be proud of’

STAFF MEMBERS CBI 

MANAGING DIRECTOR 

T. Lansink 

INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS & TRAINING SECTION (IK) 

Head of Section/Deputy Director 

A. Wevers 

Project Managers 

L. Cuypers 

M.J.H. Swartjes 

Officers: 

D. Baart 

J. van der Loos 

F. Uluocak 

TRADE PROMOTION SECTION (HB) 

Head of Section 

D.J. de Man 

Programme Managers 

C.J. Dieleman 

P.J. van Gilst 

H. Hazelaar 

W. van Heumen 

J. Nijenhuis 

Officers: 

B. Beijersbergen van Henegouwen 

S. Bhawanidin 

C. Kerkhof 

MARKET INFORMATION & TRADE INTERMEDIARY SECTION (MB) 


H. Verhoeven 

Programme Managers 

A. van Beuzekom (AccessGuide) 

J. Vereijken (Market Information) 

Officer: 

I. Halvax (Trade Intermediary Services) 

Secretariat: 

G. Dimmers 

ACCOUNTS & GENERAL AFFAIRS SECTION (CZ) 


B. van der Pol 

Officers 

M.A.A. van der Drift 

T. Vooijs 

G. de Winkel 

Archives 

Vacancy 

Secretariat 

J.M. Geerders 

Mailing address 

CBI 

P.O. Box 30009 

3001 DA Rotterdam 

The Netherlands 

Phone +31 10 201 34 34 

Fax +31 10 411 40 81 

E-mail cbi@cbi.nl 

Internet www.cbi.nl 

Office 

WTC-Beursbuilding, 5th floor 

37 Beursplein, Rotterdam 

The Netherlands 

Editorial staff 

H. Verhoeven (Editor-in-chief) 

J. Vereijken (Editorial 

Management) 

S.D. Teeuwen (Editor) 

Circulation 5000 

Frequency 6 times annually 

Editing and layout Admix Publieke Werken, Rotterdam 

Print PlantijnCasparie Den Haag 

THE CBI: YOUR EUROPEAN PARTNER FOR THE EUROPEAN MARKET 

The CBI (Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries) is an 

agency of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The CBI was established in 1971. 

The CBI’s mission is to contribute to the economic development of developing 

countries by strengthening the competitiveness of companies from these countries on 

the EU market. The CBI considers social values and compliance with the most 

relevant environmental requirements to be an integral part of its policy and activities. 

THE CBI OFFERS VARIOUS PROGRAMMES AND SERVICES TO ITS TARGET GROUPS: 

MARKET INFORMATION 

A wide variety of tools to keep exporters and Business Support Organizations in 

developing countries in step with the very latest developments on the EU market. 

COMPANY MATCHING 

The company matching programme links well-versed suppliers in developing 

countries to reliable importing companies in the EU and vice versa. 

EXPORT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES (EDPS) 

EDPs are designed to assist entrepreneurs in developing countries in entering and 

succeeding on the EU market and/or in consolidating or expanding their existing 

market share. 

TRAINING PROGRAMMES 

Training programmes for exporters and Business Support Organizations on, among 

others, general export marketing and management; trade promotion; management 

of international trade fair participation, and developing client-oriented market in- 

formation systems. 

BSO DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME 

Institutional support for capacity building for selected Business Support 

Organizations. 

For detailed information on all CBI programmes and services, visit the CBI 

website at www.cbi.nl 

Please write to us in English, the working language of the CBI.

) contents 

)( 

( 

EXPORT MARKETING & MANAGEMENT 

Interview: The CBI consultant Jan Ramakers: Add knowledge, mix well 5 

Series Europe 25: Business in the Baltics 6 

EUROPEAN MARKET INFORMATION 

Doubles, anyone? The pro-s and con-s of co-operation 10 

The ABC of AccessGuide 13 

You can influence EU law 14 

Maca, back on the menu 16 

CBI EU market surveys, excerpts from the surveys for: 

- the bodywear market: Shake your bodywear 17 

- software market & IT services: Click on offshore 18 

CBI NEWS 

New looks for the CBI 19 

The CBI and the ripples in the pond, Anneke Wevers taking over from 

Barbara Joziasse 19 

Welcome Norway, joining forces with major Norwegian institutes 21 

PROMOTIONAL EVENTS 

Taking the Aquatech plunge 22 

Trade Fair Automechanika 22 

Spreading the good news 23 

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE & COMPANY VISITS 

Give me a brake, heavy traffic in the car parts sector 23 

SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS 

Brand-new Ecuador, a new CBI seminar on country branding 25 

Clinically alive, new vigour into the Expro seminar Chemicals 28 

See you online! E-learning across the world 30 

MATCH BOX 

New suppliers from developing countries 33 

Interesting Manuals 33 

Trade fairs and conferences 33 

CBI Export Development Activities 34 

List of current CBI publications 36 

Coverphoto: Barbara Joziasse (right) says farewell, Anneke Wevers (left) 

taking over (photo: Leon Pieter den Hollander) 

Below: At work in the Nepalese paper industry, companies 

successfully co-operating. 

July/August 2004 page 3

The world’s biggest single 

market for fine and specialty 

chemicals is the European 

Union. Every major player in 

the sector is based here and 

their combined competitive 

power could cause quite a 

bang. But that doesn’t mean 

that if you have a small- or 

medium-sized enterprise in a 

developing country you’ll 

never make it in the EU. 

On the contrary, Europe needs 

you, says CBI consultant Jan 

Ramakers. Just make sure that 

when you’re brewing your 

export potion, you mix in 

plenty of market knowledge. 

CBI consultant Jan Ramakers elaborates on 

the world’s biggest single market for fine and 

specialty chemicals (photo De Jong & Van Es). 

Every company in this sector is 

looking at its procurement policy 

these days”, says Ramakers. 

“That means they’re looking for suitable 

options for placing their products 

outside the European Union, too. A lot 

of Europeans are already buying heavily 

in India. They may not yet have 

discovered smaller developing countries, 

like Colombia – but nobody 

would object to searching there.” 

The chemical industry, in short, is simply 

bubbling with activity. And as far as Jan 

Ramakers is concerned, that’s the way it 

should be: not only does it mean he has 

good news for all those CBI-supported 

companies in developing countries that he 

works with, but it keeps the Dutchman in 

business himself as well. A former chemist 

with DSM, where he moved from research 

to marketing, business development, acquisitions 

and screening, Ramakers shifted 

to consultancy in ’96, when he was asked to 

set up a chemicals branch for an agency in 

Scotland. Aided by various business courses, 

the tall Dutchman became a specialist 

in mergers and acquisitions. Five years ago 

he went independent. His main activity 

now is to monitor every move of the chemical 

industry’s top 45 players and their 

respective markets. It’s a killing job in a 

killing sector, but Ramakers, still based in 

Edinburgh, seems to have found his for- 

) export marketing & management ( CBI News Bulletin page 4

Add 

knowledge, 

mix well By Stephen D. Teeuwen 

Consultant Jan Ramakers shares a few lessons 

in the chemistry of European marketing 

mula for success, mixing the adroitness of a 

Dutch merchant with the cordiality of a 

Scottish laird. “You’ve got to enjoy what 

you’re doing”, he says, “and I do. The CBI 

work is particularly rewarding in the 

sense that it means being involved in a very 

tangible form of development.” He smiles 

gentleman-like and adds, “Anybody 

would enjoy it.” 

QUITE A DIP 

If all that makes you think the European 

chemical industry is something like a 

Highland Games tournament, you’d better 

wake up. In recent years, the industry has 

been the scene of more mergers and acquisitions 

than you can count – and that’s not 

because all those Company Executive 

Officers love to cuddle. “Like every other 

industrial sector, the chemicals industry 

has been through quite a dip”, says 

Ramakers. “Still, it’s one of the strongest 

industries at the moment.” 

Powered by social trends such as rising 

living standards and increasing demand 

for new and more effective medicines, the 

pharma industry, for instance, registered a 

fairly astonishing nine-percent growth last 

year, says the Dutchman. “If you take a 

long-term view, things are looking good. 

There are a lot of fluctuations and a lot of 

complex movements going on, but the 

overall picture is positive. It doesn’t look as 

though the chemical industry is about to 

collapse.” 

NO PREJUDICE 

Does all that mean the European giants 

don’t need any help from the rest of the 

world, least of all from developing countries? 

On the contrary, says Ramakers. 

“Because the market is growing and economic 

pressure continues, Europeans are 

showing increasing interest in sourcing 

from so-called non-traditional areas, which 

means non-EU countries. I don’t know of 

any companies buying in Colombia, but it 

wouldn’t be strange if they did. 

Developing countries are certainly not 

looked down on by Europeans. The prejudices 

that exist in some sectors are nonexistent 

in the chemical industry. If you 

have a product that meets European standards 

and your deliveries are reliable, it 

doesn’t matter where you’re based.” 

In fact, says Ramakers, some European 

buyers have good reason to show particular 

interest in suppliers from developing 

countries. “Don’t forget that partnering 

with a company in a developing country 

means getting closer to the active ingredients 

of your chemical or pharmaceutical 

products. The active ingredients are, of 

course, the building blocks of the industry. 

Most companies will jump at the chance to 

get higher up in the value chain by teaming 

up with a developing country supplier.” 

KILO SHOPS 

The so-called ‘kilo shops’ popping up all 

over the developing and the developed 

world in recent years are a good illustration 

of the high value placed on active ingredi- 

ents. “Kilo shops are highly specialized 

companies, many of them in developing 

countries, that work with small quantities 

of active ingredients. They use them for 

testing and developing new products. By 

definition, they have very highly qualified 

staff: in India you might have ten expert 

chemists for the price of one in Europe. All 

that makes these businesses very interesting 

for European players eager to have 

more influence on product development.” 

The expertise that characterizes many kilo 

shops is not unusual throughout the industry 

in developing countries, Ramakers has 

found. “Many of the companies enrolled in 

the CBI’s export development programme 

offer superb all-round quality, right down 

to their waste treatment systems. If you 

visit their plants you wouldn’t be able to 

tell whether you were in a developing 

country or in Europe – in fact, some of 

them are better equipped than many 

Europeans.” 

MARKET KNOWLEDGE 

So if product quality isn’t an obstacle for 

India, Colombia, Tunisia and all those 

other developing countries, what is? If anything, 

says Ramakers, it’s knowledge. 

Market knowledge, to be more precise, is 

the main active ingredient many companies 

need to add to their formula for 

European success. “A good understanding 

of the European markets and business 

practices and clear, up-to-date insights into 

market trends and opportunities are of the 

utmost importance for exporters, particularly 

in the highly complex chemicals sector. 

And yet many aspiring exporters lack 

that knowledge and don’t know where or 

how to acquire it.” 

Ramakers gives a simple example. “One of 

the companies we work with is based in a 

country in which for years the distribution 

of pharmaceuticals was a state-run affair. 

This company only had one client and that 

was the state. On coming to Europe, they 

assumed they would be dealing with a 

maximum of about twenty-five potential 

clients – according to the number of EU 

member states. Their jaws dropped when 

they found out the state is not in the game, 

but at least two-hundred-and-fifty keenly 

commercial buyers are. The next big discovery, 

though, was that Europe does offer 

a level playing field. Coming from a developing 

country does not mean you automatically 

suffer certain competitive disadvantages. 

Opportunities are not boundless, 

but they are equal for everyone. You just 

have to know where and how to find 

them.” 


This is the fourth in a series of articles about the ten countries that joined the 

European Union in May this year. The first article gave a general overview of the 

trade-related consequences of EU expansion. In the second and third articles 

we took a closer look at Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and 

Slovakia. In this article we continue with the Baltic States: Latvia, Estonia and 

Lithuania. 

Business in the 

Baltics By Ecorys-NEI / Nora Plaisir 

The accession referenda in all 

three Baltic States showed 

strong support for accession to 

the European Union. There are marked 

differences between the countries, however. 

In Lithuania the victory for the accession 

supporters was overwhelming, 

with 91 percent in favour of accession, 

while in Estonia and Latvia support 

was limited to around 67 percent. Of 

the nine acceding countries that held 

referenda, Lithuania was the second 

strongest accession supporter, just after 

Dutch Crown Prince Willem Alexander and his wife 

Princess Maxima recently visited Lithuania, Latvia 

and Estonia, expressing the importance of these new 

EU member-states and markets (photo Zefa). 

Slovakia. Estonia and Latvia showed the 

least support; only Malta’s percentage of 

YES voters was lower. 

The three Baltic States are relatively small 

compared to the other Eastern and Central 

European accession countries. Lithuania is 

the largest of the three, with a population of 

around 3.6 million, followed by Latvia 

(2.35 million) and Estonia (1.4 million). In 

economic terms the Baltic countries are relatively 

small as well. Lithuania is again the 

largest, with a GDP of around EUR 20 billion, 

while Latvia’s GDP is only around 

EUR 11 billion and Estonia’s around EUR 9 

billion. Though the smallest in size, Estonia 

has the highest per capita GDP at around 

EUR 6,500, compared to EUR 5,700 in 

Lithuania and EUR 4,500 in Latvia. 

THE MACROECONOMIC PICTURE 

The Baltic States have all suffered as a result 

of the economic crisis in Russia in the 

late 1990s. They have been able to recover 

from this economic setback in the new mil- 

lennium, however, and are now the fastest 

growing economies of the new Eastern 

European countries. Lithuania is the fastest 

growing of the three, with a GDP growth 

rate of around 9 percent in 2003. But Latvia 

and Estonia have also experienced annual 

growth rates of more than 6 percent since 

2000. Export and foreign direct investments 

(FDI) are the main drivers of this 

strong performance, but consumption is 

also becoming increasingly important. 

Macro-economic policy is prudent in the 

region. The governments have the fiscal 


situation under control and prices are 

stable. In Lithuania, prices were even declining 

in 2003. 

As a result of this economic growth, unemployment 

has declined, but is still high, at 

rates of more than 10 percent. A worrisome 

trend in the Baltic States is the deepening 

account deficit. The main reasons for growing 

deficits are increasing consumptionrelated 

imports and real appreciation of the 

local currencies (especially 

Estonia and Lithuania, 

whose currencies are 

pegged to the Euro). This 

appreciation has put some 

pressure on the competitiveness 

of the countries’ exports. As FDI in 

the region is decreasing (see below), the 

rising deficits are increasingly being financed 

by debt, although the net external 

debt is still relatively low. 

FDI AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE 

All three countries have been rather successful 

in attracting FDI since the start of 

their economic transition. This has contributed 

positively to their economic 

growth performance. FDI inflows have 

shown a fluctuating pattern, mainly because 

a large part of FDI was associated 

with privatizations of state-owned companies. 

Although there is now a decreasing 

scope for FDI as the wave of large privatisation 

deals passes over, EU enlargement is 

affecting FDI inflows positively in the 

Baltic States. The main attractions of the 

Baltic countries are their low operational 

costs (including low tax rates), their strategic 

location between the EU and Russia, a 

skilled work force and economic stability. 

Estonia has been the most successful of the 

three countries in attracting FDI. In 2001, 

the inward FDI stock as a percentage of 

GDP amounted to 65 percent in Estonia, the 

highest percentage of all Central and 

Eastern European countries. For Latvia and 

Lithuania, this figure is around 30 percent. 

In all three countries financial services, 

whole and retail trade, and manufacturing 

are important sectors for inward FDI. 

Transport, communication and real estate 

also become increasingly important. The 

main sources of FDI are the neighbouring 

countries in the Baltic Sea region, notably 

Sweden, Finland, Germany, Denmark, 

Russia and Norway. Estonia is also a fairly 

important investor in the other two Baltic 

States. As small and open economies, trade 

is important for the three Baltic States: the 

share of trade in goods relative to GDP 

varies from around 70 percent in Latvia, to 

some 90 percent in Lithuania and more 

than 130 percent in Estonia. Since the transition, 

the direction of exports has shifted 

from the Russian and other CIS* markets to 

the EU market. In Estonia and Latvia, more 

than 60 percent of the exports are directed 

) 

Main attractions of the Baltics: low costs, 

( 

location, skills and stability 

towards the EU. For Lithuania, the percentage 

is just below 50 percent. 

EXPORT AND IMPORT PRODUCTS 

Electronic equipment and wood products 

are the two main export products for 

Estonia. Value-added products are becoming 

increasingly important, which is 

reflected in the relatively high growth rates 

for products like furniture, transport 

Trade performance of leading export categories in 2002 

HS code Description 

equipment, electronic equipment and 

machinery. In Latvia, wood products are by 

far the largest export products, which reflects 

the large forested areas of the country. 

One of the main problems is that most of 

the products Latvia exports have little 

added value, like timber, zinc and wood 

products. Tin and zinc have experienced 

the highest export growth between 1998 

and 2002. An encouraging sign is the emergence 

of the electronics industry, which has 

expanded in recent years. 

For Lithuania, exports of 

mineral products are the 

most important. Re-export 

of oil products is the main 

factor here. Transport 

equipment, notably ships, has been the 

fastest growing export product over the 

last year. In all three countries, imports are 

domina-ted by electronic equipment, machinery, 

transport equipment and fuels. 

Developing countries have been able to export 

products to Estonia and Lithuania, notably 

machi-nery products, electronic 

equipment, mi-neral products, plastics and 

ships. In Latvia, developing country shares 

Share in 

national 

exports 

Value of 

exports 

to EU 

% x 1000 € % % 

Estonia 

85 Electrical, electronic equipment 17.7% 671,413 82.5% 16% 

44 Wood and articles of wood, wood charcoal 12.1% 431,942 77.8% 5% 

94 Furniture, lighting, signs, prefabricated 

buildings 7.0% 255,314 79.2% 19% 

27 Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products, etc 5.3% 89,388 36.4% 15% 

87 Vehicles other than railway, tramway 4.9% 86,070 38.3% 16% 

84 

Latvia 

Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery, etc 4.3% 97,349 48.6% 11% 


72 Iron and steel 5.5% 59,682 45.1% 4% 

94 Furniture, lighting, signs, prefabricated 

buildings 5.4% 104,201 79.5% 11% 

62 Articles of apparel, accessories, not knit 

or crochet 5.1% 106,610 86.5% 0% 

76 Aluminium and articles thereof 4.2% 93,255 91.1% 44% 

85 

Lithuania 

Electrical, electronic equipment 3.5% 31,574 36.7% 5% 



62 Articles of apparel, accessories, not knit 

or crochet 7.1% 393,170 94.8% 7% 

89 Ships, boats and other floating structures 7.1% 166,278 40.5% 82% 



Source: ITC UNCTAD/WTO (converted into euros using an exchange rate of 1.06 €/USD) 

Percentage 

of exports 

to EU 

Average 

annual 

growth 

1998 

– 2002 


in imports are still very low. Between 1998 

and 2002, growth in developing country 

imports was 13 percent in Estonia, 11 percent 

in Lithuania, and only 3 percent in 

Latvia. There are marked differences between 

products, however. Imports of a 

number of food and textile and clothing 

products from developing countries have 

grown significantly, at rates of more than 20 

percent. 

WAGES AND CONSUMPTION 

Estonia has the highest average wage per 

month of the Baltic countries, at some 

EURO 500 per month, compared to just 

under EURO 300 per month in Latvia and 

Lithuania. The average monthly wage in 

Estonia is comparable to the average wage 

in the Czech Republic; wages in Latvia and 

Lithuania are among the lowest of the 

accession countries. 

As wages increase, purchasing power is rising, 

in turn causing a growing demand for 

consumption goods. Lithuania’s retail 

trade turnover has experienced annual 

growth rates of more than 20 percent over 

the last years. In response to this growing 

demand, supply of consumption goods is 

also increasing, and it is therefore important 

for new products to offer extra quality 

or some originality. For many years, people 

associated expensive imported products 

(particularly from the West) with high 

quality or other advantages. Nowadays, a 

good price-quality ratio is becoming more 

important. This may lead to better opportunities 

for developing country exports. On 

the consumer market, there is an increasing 

demand for clothing, shoes and food products. 

Opportunities may also lie in supplying 

companies that are producing for 

the export market. On account of their 

strong growth, they are not always able to 

meet their demand for inputs locally. There 

is, for example, a rising demand for computer 

parts, and inputs for the chemical industry. 

DOING BUSINESS IN THE BALTIC 

Although the Baltic States are similar in 

many respects, it is important to realize 

that these countries each have their own 

culture, language and customs and have 

become more nationalistic since their independence. 

But the three countries also have 

a number of things in common. The people 

are generally friendly, though reserved, 

and open to contacts with foreigners. 

English is the most commonly used language 

in the business community, although 

the older generation does not always speak 

Lots of useful information in dedicated databases on 

the Internet. 

a foreign language. Most companies have a 

hierarchical organizational structure, and 

people attach importance to the use of 

people’s titles. In business, specific and 

straightforward questions are not considered 

impolite and often lead to clear 

answers. Small gifts or invitations for lunch 

or dinner are always very much appreciated. 

All three Baltic countries have a relatively 

flat distribution structure: many importing 

companies or wholesale traders 

sell products directly to retail stores or even 

to end users, which makes distribution relatively 

cheap. Because of this flat distribution 

structure, and also because the Baltic 

countries are relatively small, it may be difficult 

to find a specialized local agent for 

Trade performance of leading import categories in 2002 

HS code Description 

certain products. Some companies therefore 

decide to work with one agent for all 

three Baltic States. Because of the rivalry 

between the three countries, it may be better 

to work with a Swedish or Finnish company 

with good regional knowledge. If you 

work with local agents, it is important to 

know that there is no specific legislation for 

agents in any of the Baltic States. When 

drawing up contracts with local agents, it is 

therefore advisable to get the support of a 

lawyer with good knowledge of national 

legislation. 

* CIS stands for Commonwealth of Independant 

States, which consists of 12 of the 15 states of the 

former Sovjet Union. 

The data in this article were drawn from different 

sources, most notably the IMF (IFS and country 

reports) and the ITC. Other useful information was 

taken from the website of the European Commission, 

the Dutch EVD 'partner in export', the UNCTAD 

World Investment Reports, the World Bank 

EU-8 Quarterly Economic Report, and a database for 

business and public information on the Baltics 

(www.balticdata.info). 

Share in 

national 

imports 

Value of 

exports 

to EU 

% x 1000 € % % 

Estonia 

84 Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery, etc 12.9% 1,496,697 11.4% 0% 

87 Vehicles other than railway, tramway 10.9% 1,266,382 6.2% -5% 

85 Electrical, electronic equipment 9.7% 1,121,005 15.2% 4% 


39 Plastics and articles thereof 5.1% 593,199 9.2% 6% 

72 

Latvia 

Iron and steel 4.5% 519,947 7.1% 3% 

84 Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery, etc 12.1% 520,418 3.4% 6% 




30 Pharmaceutical products 4.5% 195,148 3.7% 8% 

39 

Lithuania 

Plastics and articles thereof 4.1% 175,967 1.8% 13% 

27 Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products, etc 16.5% 1,345,870 0.2% 16% 


84 Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery, etc 9.9% 806,413 16.2% 5% 


89 Ships, boats and other floating structures 4.5% 365,390 38.3% 117% 

39 Plastics and articles thereof 4.2% 343,088 10.6% 10% 

Source: ITC UNCTAD/WTO (converted into euros using an exchange rate of 1.06 €/USD) 

Percentage 

of imports 

from 

developing 

countries 

) export marketing & management ( CBI News Bulletin page 8 

Average 

annual 

growth 

1998 

– 2002

Collect your key to the Baltics here 

Approaching the local business community 

in the Baltic States does not require a lot 

of time, but neither is it easy. The three 

countries share the problem that not all 

their companies are registered with the 

Chamber of Commerce, as this is not obligatory. 

There are several organizations that 

can provide information about local companies, 

however, and there are also increasing 

numbers of commercial consultancy 

companies eager to provide information. 

In Estonia, knowledge of local companies 

can be obtained from the Estonian 

Investment Agency (www.eia.ee), the 

Chamber of Commerce in Tallinn 

(www.koda.ee) and the Estonian Trade 

Council (www.etc.ee). The website 

www.infopluss.ee also has a large number 

of companies in its database. 

In Latvia, the Latvian Investment and 

Development Agency has electronic business 

guides with contacts of local companies 

by sector, at www.lda.gov.lv, 

www.exim.lv and www.kontakti.lv. In addition, 

the Chamber of Commerce has 

some information, at www.chamber.lv. 

In Lithuania, the Lithuanian Development 

Agency can help with identifying commercial 

partners in the country, through its 

own website (www.lda.lt) or through the 

related website www.tradeport.lt, which 

provides information about business opportunities 

in Lithuania. 

TRADE FAIRS 

Participation in trade fairs can be another 

important way of establishing contacts 

with the local community. It is also a useful 

way of promoting your products. Trade 

fairs are regularly organized in the Baltic 

capitals, and many business people also 

visit trade fairs in the Nordic countries. 

The Lithuanian Exhibition Centre 

(www.litexpo.lt) has a complete overview 

of all trade fairs and exhibitions in the 

Lithuanian capital Vilnius. 

The Latvian Chamber of Commerce 

(www.chamber.lv) lists all trade fairs organized 

in Latvia. Two companies organize 

trade fairs in Latvia: BT1 (www.bt1.lv) 

and Prima Skonto (www.prima.lv). The 

website of Estonian Fairs (www.fair.ee) 

gives an overview of trade fairs organized 

in Estonia. 

A picturesque view of the city of Vilnius, Lithuania 

(photo Zefa). 


By Chris Goes 

In today’s dynamic and rapidly 

changing world economy the issue 

of cooperation is becoming more 

and more important. But before you 

throw in your lot with another company, 

it’s good to be aware of the risks. As 

fifty percent of all cooperation ventures 

fail, you may find yourself wasting a lot 

of energy and money if you don’t prepare 

yourself properly. In this first of 

three articles on the subject, we’ll be 

looking at what might trigger you to 

consider cooperation and the pro’s and 

con’s of cooperation. 

Let’s get one thing straight: cooperation 

can be very profitable. In fact, the issue 

of cooperation is more relevant today 

than ever in international business. 

Market research among enterprises in 

the Netherlands has proven that companies 

that cooperate with other companies 

have a better market performance 

than companies that do not. In 

one particular survey, 75% of the companies 

said their turnover and profits 

increased after joining arms with another 

business. In most European enterprises, 

cooperation has become a structural 

part of management. So if you’re 

an exporter in a developing country, it 

makes sense to consider cooperation. 

THE PROCESS OF COOPERATION 

Considering the need of co-operating 

with other companies, the following 

steps could be helpful: 

1. A particular event or incident could 

initiate the need to co-operate with 

other companies. 

2. When it has become evident what 

prompted this need for co-operation, 

then gradually the pros and cons of 

such a co-operation can be formulated. 

In Article 2 the objectives of cooperation 

will be the focus. 

3. After careful consideration of all the 

pros and cons, the decision of 

whether to embark on this joint effort 

should be made. 

4. The next step is to determine with 

whom co-operation is desired – 

those companies who have the required 

knowledge, skills and finances 

to meet your objectives. Note 

that there are several types and 

forms of co-operation. 

5. The following phase is that this cooperation 

will go into effect. In this 

early stage, minor difficulties should 

be examined. Trusting your partners 

Doubles, any 

is a must for accomplishing your objectives 

for this co-operation. 

6. In this next phase, co-operation should 

commence as planned. 

7. After a specific period of time, the goals 

set and possible improvements should 

be discussed. This is further developed 

in Article 3. 

THE TRIGGER 

A trigger is a specific experience or discovery 

that makes you want to pursue a particular 

idea. Such triggers can vary from 

meeting other entrepreneurs to reading 

about the worsening economy. Here are 

some examples of triggers: 

• Globalization (multinationals, emerging 

countries) 

• Changing consumer behaviour 

• Technological developments 

• Insufficient domestic markets (and the 

need to export) 

The process of globalization is affecting 

The first in a series 

of three articles on 

the gall and glory of 

teaming up with other 

companies 

every marketplace and in these marketplaces 

world players are gaining influence. 

Also, emerging countries like China, India 

and others and their fast growing 

economies are heavily impacting the dayto-day 

lives of people all over the world. 

Rising oil and steel prices and the resulting 

rise of interest rates and in some cases inflation, 

will affect cost prices and margins. 

Teaming up with other companies to con- 


one? 

centrate your joint purchasing power can 

be a solution to the problem of unfavourable 

raw materials prices or other issues 

such as energy, transport and the like. 

These issues affect consumer behaviour. 

But so do many other developments – demographic 

trends (like ageing), cultural 

trends and ecological or environmental 

trends. Alert entrepreneurs can turn these 

changes to their advantage, but often you 

can’t make them do so on your own. For instance, 

you might join forces with a group 

of companies to develop a line of products 

and aim it at a specific target group in 

Europe, like senior citizens. 

The rate at which technological developments 

are taking place is another example 

that may necessitate co-operation. In many 

sectors, new products have to be developed 

all the time and at high speed. Cooperation 

in research and development can 

help you meet this challenge. 

Again, many entrepreneurs across the 

globe have run up against challenges they 

realize they cannot accomplish alone. Let’s 

say, for instance, that your machines can 

produce more than you can sell on your 

domestic market. So you want to export. 

This means acquiring knowledge of foreign 

markets, export transactions, export 

packaging, other calculation methods, foreign 

payment risks, other languages and 

more. To acquire knowledge in this fields, 

you can do three things: 

1. Buy the knowledge in hard cash 

2. Develop the knowledge in-house, which 

will take considerable time 

3. Cooperate with others, agreeing on counter 

services, cost and income sharing. 

In most cases, entrepreneurs will prefer one 

of the first two methods. There are, however, 

many reasons why the third method 

might be the most profitable in the long run. 

THE PRO-S AND CON-S 

Before embarking on a cooperation adventure, 

you need to consider all the possible 

advantages and disadvantages. Let’s start 

with the bad news: 

- Image loss (joining forces and cooperating 

with larger partners will result in 

losing some of your identity and image; 

whether this is serious or not depends 

on how necessary your image is for 

marketing purposes – the improved 

time-to-market and added value your 

partner offers may be more relevant). 

- Setting up a cooperation form is timeconsuming 

and difficult (think of the 

time you might need to convince a partner 

that your idea is better than his; or 

the time you’ll need to carefully explore 

whether cooperation is worth your 

while or not). 

- Loss of independence (if you’re a real 

entrepreneur, you probably feel very 

strongly about your independence, although 

you may find it useful to look at 

dependency purely from the point of 

view of business opportunities). 

- Spill-over of knowledge (your partner 

may run off with your knowledge. This 

often explains why negotiators are not 

willing to tell all until they have complete 

trust in their partner. But there are 

measures you can take to prevent excessive 

spill-over). 

HOW TO REDUCE THE RISKS 

There are numerous actions you can take to 

reduce some of these risks: 

• Cooperate with several partners to prevent 

dependency and to spread risks. 

• Make use of a written contract to prevent 

misuse of power, especially if one 

of the partners is large and the other 

small (but remember that it can cost a lot 

of time and money to compose a contract 

and failure to comply on either side 

can cause a lot of legal hassle). 

• Work on open communication and mutual 

trust. 

• Involve a third party to prevent spillover 

and abuse of trust – an independent 

authority who can monitor the way 

in which each partner uses the other’s 

knowledge and can be called on in case 

of perceived misuse. 

THE GOOD NEWS 

Fortunately, there’s also a lot of good news 

about cooperation. 

- Cooperation can improve your chances 

of success in the long run. 

- It brings possibilities within your reach 

that you can’t reach on your own (put 

two entrepreneurs together and they 

will come up with at least ten good 

ideas they might realize together, as 

entrepreneurs have a strong desire to 

create, perform and act). 

- Especially if you’re a small company, cooperation 

can enable you to reap the 

benefits of your partner’s competencies. 

If your competencies are not competitive, 

cooperation can be very successful. 

- Cooperation can help you reduce costs, 

increase turnover and improve efficiency. 

This is perhaps one of the strongest 

reasons to cooperate: the ‘Togetherwe-are-stronger’ 

argument creates immediate 

success and can be measured 

very well. 

- Cooperation can shield you from the 

power of large multinationals as well as 

local governments. 

OVER TO YOU 

Now that you know some of the main risks 

and promises of cooperation, you’ll have to 

decide for yourself whether or not you 

want to enter a form of cooperation with 

another business. In the next article we’ll 

look at your cooperation objectives and at 

various forms of cooperation. 


At work in the Nepalese paper industry, an example of successful co-operation that provides thousands of jobs. 

In 1996 a group of struggling entrepreneurs 

in the handmade paper industry 

in Nepal joined forces, setting up a 

branch association called ‘Handpass’. A 

few years and a lot of hard work later, 

they’ve created jobs for thousands of 

their fellow-countrymen and -women. 

The Nepalese handmade paper manufacturers 

were triggered into working 

together by two factors: 

• They were struggling individually as 

well as sectorally 

• Their local market had become too 

small, while international demand 

was growing. 

Considering the pro’s and con’s, the entrepreneurs 

decided to form an association, 

allowing not only exporters and 

converters to register, but paper makers 

as well. 

OBJECTIVES 

After a few years, they drafted a plan in 

which they formulated the following 

objectives: 

•To strengthen and promote handmade 

paper enterprises in Nepal; 

A group of paper 

makers join forces, 

providing thousands 

of Nepalese with 

an income 

•To preserve the traditional Nepali handmade 

paper craft and products, as these 

represent the most ancient and simplest 

methods of paper-making; 

•To produce sustainable raw material and 

to develop a common market; 

•To contribute to the national economy by 

creating new jobs (there are about 170 

cottage and small-scale handmade paper 

enterprises operating in different parts of 

the country today, providing jobs for 

thousands of people); 

•To promote and sustain Nepali handmade 

paper made from the Lokta plant 

as a unique kind of paper; 

•To market the trade mark ‘Nepali 

Handmade Paper’. 

Currently, Handpass has 60 member com- 

panies. Cooperation between the members 

and through the association is becoming 

more and more effective. As the domestic 

market is still too small to absorb all the 

paper the companies can produce and as 

the Lokta Paper is more expensive and exclusive 

than other kinds of paper, export 

was soon an obvious option. 

A SECTOR EXPORT MARKETING 

PLAN 

Members of Handpass were soon exporting 

fairly successfully. However, to ensure 

structural and sustainable export growth, 

the association established a so-called 

Sector Export Marketing Plan (SEMP) with 

the support of the CBI. The consumer plays 

the leading role in this plan and consumer 

groups have been defined in order to develop 

marketable product lines. Also, the 

association is researching the distribution 

channels through which it can reach these 

consumer groups. Product lines can include 

similarly designed products from 

different member companies. Cooperation 

is the key word. 


By Ariane van Beuzekom 

In this second of four articles, we 

continue our introduction of the diversity 

of themes and issues you 

can find in the CBI’s online database, 

AccessGuide. Check your understanding 

of the database and some of the 

key issues in trading with the European 

Union. And don’t forget this series presents 

only a small selection of the many 

issues treated in the database. 

Good practices have been deve- 

G 

loped for many sectors in recent 

years. The so-called good agricultural 

practice (GAP) developed by the largest 

European retailer group, EUREP (Euro- 

Retailer Produce Working Group), is a 

very relevant one if you’re trading with 

any of its members. The GAP standards 

were developed in order to promote 

good production practices in the agricultural 

sector and thus to ensure food 

safety. The EUREP group made them 

compulsory for all their suppliers in 

January 2004. 

The so-called good manufacturing 

practice (GMP) developed for the production 

of pharmaceutical or medicinal 

products is another good example. It 

contains principles and guidelines developed 

by the European Union. 

AccessGuide covers many more kinds 

of good practice. 

Help! If you can’t find the infor- 

H 

mation you’re looking for in 

AccessGuide, you’re having problems 

understanding the information presented, 

or you think crucial information 

is missing, please do not hesitate to contact 

us at the CBI. You can use the 

‘Contact us’ button on the site or email 

us at accessguide@cbi.nl. 

‘H’ also stands for hygiene requirements. 

These are of growing impor- 

A B C D E F G H I J K L M 

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 

The ABC of AccessGuide 

The CBI’s online database for non-tariff trade barriers, Part 2: G – M 

tance in the food processing industry. The 

EU legally obliges food processors within 

its borders to implement the hygiene management 

system known as HACCP. Food 

processors from third countries supplying 

the EU are not yet legally obliged to comply 

with HACCP requirements, although 

many importers do insist on HACCP implementation 

as a guarantee for hygiene 

management. In 2006 the HACCP requirements 

will become a legal requirement for 

exporters from developing countries as 

well. Stay tuned to AccessGuide to keep 

abreast with developments. 

HOW TO USE 

THE WEBSITE 

AccessGuide covers a far wider range of 

topics related to non-tariff trade barriers 

than can be dealt with in this introductory 

series. To find out for yourself, go to 

the AccessGuide homepage: 

www.cbi.nl/accessguide. From there, 

you’ll find three main ways of locating all 

the relevant requirements you need to 

know about for exporting to the EU: 

1. Click on the product sector of your 

interest and you’ll find an overview of 

the most important legislative and 

market requirements. 

2. Use the Keyword Search: type a keyword 

and click on the arrow. If your 

keyword is specific (e.g. tomato) and 

you do not get search results, try a more 

general keyword (e.g. vegetable). 

3. Use the Quick Search: choose your product 

group and the export market to 

which you want to export (European 

Union, Germany, the Netherlands, 

United Kingdom or not specified) and 

click on the arrow. 

‘I’ stands for the internationally ac- 

I 

cepted social standards (conventions) 

of the International Labour Organization 

(ILO) of the United Nations. The most fundamental 

ILO conventions cover: (1) the 

right to union membership and to negotiate; 

(2) non-discrimination; (3) forced 

labour; (4) minimum age; (5) working 

hours; (6) equal remuneration; (7) minimum 

wages; and (8) occupational health 

and safety. These social standards of the 

ILO are often used as a basis for other social 

requirements laid down by buyers in many 

sectors. In AccessGuide you will find a link 

to the ILO database on all social initiatives 

as well as the most important social 

requirements demanded in each specific 

sector. 

These days the Internet is a veritable 

J 

jungle of information. The lack 

of information of times past has been replaced 

by an information overload. The 

AccessGuide database provides practical 

information and selected links to other 

Internet sites that are relevant for exporters 

to the EU. This means you don’t have to 

spend a lot of time looking for information 

on the Internet; you just go to AccessGuide 

and use the provided information and additional 

links to get a full understanding of 

the European requirements relevant for 

your product sector. 

What do kiwi fruit, kumquat and 

K 

kohlrabi have in common? They are 

all three subject to EU legislation on the 

(limited) presence of pesticide residues, socalled 

maximum residue levels (MRLs). In 

AccessGuide you will find an up-to-date 

outline of this legislation as well as useful 

links to other databases that provide the 

MRLs for all crop-pesticide combinations. 

Keeping track of current limits could hardly 

be easier – or shall we say it could hardly 

be a lot more difficult. 

) european market information ( July/August 2004 page 13

Did you know that the 

L 

AccessGuide database provides 

almost 2000 selected links to 

other websites? That it contains all 

the EU legislation regarding environmental 

and consumer health 

and safety issues? That internationally 

the word regulation is being 

used to refer to legislation in general, 

but that technically it is a specific 

instrument of the EU, such as a 

directive, to directly implement a 

law in all the member states? That 

all legislation is obligatory and 

therefore of the utmost importance? 

That compliance with legislative requirements 

is often not enough on 

the European market – you also 

have to comply to additional nonlegislative 

requirements laid down 

by your buyer, consumer groups 

and other market parties? 

A management system is an 

M 

instrument to help your company 

comply with certain environmental, 

social or health and safety 

standards. A management system is 

an organizational structure defining 

responsibilities, procedures, processes 

and provisions for the establishment 

of certain goals. 

Numerous internationally applied 

management systems can be found 

in AccessGuide, such as ISO 9000, 

ISO 14000, SA8000, OHSAS 18000, 

QS 9000, SQF and more. 

In the next issue of the CBI News 

Bulletin we’ll take a look at the 

letters N - S. 

B C 

N O P 

D 

Q 

You can influence 

Let’s face it: if the European Union 

looks like a fortress from the outside, 

its legislation is the fortress’s 

guarded tower. The EU’s rules and regulations 

are so numerous and so complicated 

– and the institutes and committees who 

devise them so inaccessible – that getting 

into Europe to do business is like setting up 

shop in a labyrinth. Even the EU’s efforts in 

recent years to harmonize its laws and procedures 

have not exactly paved the way for 

exporters from developing countries. But if 

you look carefully, you will find a few windows 

and doors in the tower walls. Yes, 

you can influence European lawmaking. 

Here are a few examples. 

In several recent cases the EU has given 

stakeholders the opportunity to voice their 

opinion on new policy strategies, proposals 

for new legislation or the effects of existing 

legislation. During a consultation period 

the stakeholders were invited to comment 

on certain issues from their own experience 

and perspective. The invitation was extended 

to EU member states as well as governments 

of third countries, trade associations, 

individual producers, researchers 

and the like. 

A few examples 

prove the European 

fortress is not as 

impenetrable as it 

looks 


The CBI is convinced stakeholders in developing 

countries can make use of these 

opportunities to inform European legislators 

and ultimately to influence the rulemaking 

processes. In the CBI’s experience, 

for instance, trade partners in developing 

countries sometimes need longer transition 

periods to implement new requirements or 

to develop the technology needed to meet 

new standards. Rather than staying quiet 

and suffering the negative consequences, 

the CBI believes you can stand up and 

speak up. 

VEHICLE RECYCLING 

In July 2003 the so-called end-of-life vehicles 

directive was enforced in all EU member 

states. Its aim was to make the disman- 

) european market information ( CBI News Bulletin page 14

EU law 

(photo: Ecoandino.CAC, Peru) 

tling and recycling of vehicles more environment-friendly. 

One of the most important 

requirements in the directive is that 

components of vehicles may not contain 

certain specific heavy metals, including 

lead. The CBI received reports from several 

manufacturers and exporters of equipment 

parts from developing countries that 

this new law made things impossible for 

them. Their companies use lead for soldering 

and because of a lack of technical and 

financial capacity to develop suitable alternatives 

for lead, they were unable to comply 

with the EU requirements in time. 

Other reported bottlenecks were the different 

implementations of the directive in the 

EU member-states that caused confusion to 

exporters from developing countries. The 

Dutch interpretation of exempting replacement 

parts meant for cars which are marketed 

before July 2003 turned out to be the 

most favourable for manufacturers from 

developing countries. 

The EU announced a consultation round 

from January to March this year on the revision 

of exemptions: interested parties 

were given the opportunity to tell the 

Commission about the difficulties of implementing 

the directive’s requirements. 

The CBI informed several car industry associations 

in various developing countries 

about the consultation round and urged 

them to make use of the opportunity to 

make themselves heard. Unfortunately, not 

a single developing country responded. 

However, their needs will not go entirely 

unnoticed, as the CBI did inform the 

Commission on behalf of the individual exporters 

who had reported their difficulties 

to the CBI. In total, sixty stakeholders submitted 

a response. 

Very recently the technical committee in 

Brussels decided to follow the Dutch interpretation 

of the directive, which is a positive 

result for manufacturers from developing 

countries exporting mainly to the 

replacement markets. You can read the 

submissions on the EU website (see below). 

CHEMICALS 

In 2001, the EU adopted a white paper 

setting out the strategy for a future 

policy for chemicals. Dubbed ‘REACH’, 

for Registration, Evaluation and 

Authorization of Chemicals, it described 

the transferral of responsibilities from government 

to industry with regard to data 

collection and the registration of potential 

risks of chemicals. It also provided an extension 

of these responsibilities along the 

manufacturing and supply chain and the 

availability of data to the public. Because of 

the far-reaching implications, the EU set up 

a consultation round on the Internet from 

May to July 2003. The response was huge: 

968 people responded to a questionnaire, 

6,400 sent in contributions by mail or email, 

and a declaration was submitted signed by 

429 organizations and 22,464 citizens. 

Several parties in developing countries 

were among the respondents. 

On the basis of this feedback, a proposal 

was drafted. That proposal is now being 

considered by the European Parliament 

and the EU’s Council of Ministers for adoption 

under the so-called co-decision procedure. 

Again, the submitted comments are 

available on the EU website (below). 

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT 

In line with the end-of-life vehicles directive, 

the EU has also decided that electrical 

and electronic equipment introduced on 

the market after July 1, 2006, may no longer 

contain certain heavy metals and brominated 

flame retardants commonly used in 

these products. The substances in question 

are lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent 

chromium, and polybrominated 

biphenyls (PBB) or polybrominated 

diphenyl ethers (PBDE) in new electrical 

and electronic equipment put on the market 

as of July 2006. The EU has launched a 

stakeholder consultation dea-ling with 

exemptions. Again, the use of lead for soldering 

is a bottleneck for some manufacturers 

in developing countries. Lacking the 

money and the technology to replace the 

lead at short notice, these industries are 

likely to lose their footing on the market – 

unless they grab the opportunity to raise 

their voices. If this affects your company, 

read the stakeholder consultation document 

on the EU website (below). Although 

the consultation has been closed on June 

5th you can follow the results on the 

Internet. 

NOVEL FOOD 

In 2002, the EU had to report on the implementation 

of the Novel Food Regulation 

that came into force in 1997. In the accompanying 

article you can read how the CBI 

and a few Peruvian participants in the 

CBI’s export development programme for 

organic food ingredients stepped in and 

changed things for the better, the so-called 

Maca-case (see next page). 

If you have questions on this subject, please contact 

the CBI at accessguide@cbi.nl. EU consultation 

rounds that may be of interest to you will be announced 

on our AccessGuide database news page at 

www.cbi.nl/accessguide (section News). 

For more information on the examples given in this article, go to the EU website: 

Vehicles 

http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/waste/submissions.htm 

Chemicals 

http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/chemicals/consultation.htm 

Electronics 

http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/waste/pdf_comments/weee_consultation.pdf 

http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/waste/weee_index.htm 


The CBI helps pull down a barrier that kept Peru from 

exporting an exotic root to the EU 

As every parent, teacher, policeman or 

judge can tell you, no rule in the world 

is so perfect it has no exceptions. The 

European Union’s ‘novel foods regulation’ 

is one more rule that taken too 

rigidly began to make life very complicated 

for certain Peruvian exporters – 

until the CBI stepped in. It took some 

effort to convince the EU that traditional 

products like maca should not be 

barred from the EU market by too strict 

authorization procedures. Luckily for 

the Peruvians, the EU listened. Anyone 

for some maca? 

Designed for the safety assessment of 

newly designed food products, the novel 

foods regulation also includes exotic traditional 

foods newly introduced on the 

European market: the moment these 

food products were first imported, they 

were classified as ‘new’ and became subject 

to the regulation. But as the example 

of the Peruvian root called ‘maca’ shows, 

being new in Europe does not mean 

you’ve never heard about food safety before. 

Peru’s maca exporters, it turned out, 

have a long track record of food safety. 

NEW LAW ON NEW FOODS 

The novel foods regulation came into 

force on May 15, 1997. Its principal objective 

is to protect public health against 

the potential risks of newly developed 

food products. The regulation deals with 

food and food ingredients that are new 

on the market and therefore need to be 

submitted to strict safety assessments before 

being placed on the market. Novel 

foods are products produced from, containing 

or consisting of genetically modified 

organisms (GMO’s); products 

with a new or intentionally modified primary 

molecular structure; products that 

consist of, or are isolated from, microorganisms, 

fungi or algae or plants and 

animals; or products made through a 

new production process. In September 

2002 the EU was obliged to report on the 

implementation of the regulation and a 

discussion paper was prepared in order 

to give interested parties the possibility 

to react. From that time on the novel 

foods regulation was subjected to 

several discussions. 

EXOTIC TRADITIONAL FOODS 

The discussion point the CBI focussed 


Maca, 

back on 

the menu! 

on during the consultation round was the 

treatment of so-called exotic traditional 

foods that are seen by the EU as a novel 

food and therefore included in the regulation. 

In practice this implies that exotic traditional 

foods that have been in use for a 

long time in the countries where they are 

grown, should be subjected to the same 

strict procedures for innovative products 

that have no such history. 

The debate was no mere theoretical debate. 

As an organization that deals constantly 

with growers of exotic traditional foods 

aiming to access the EU market, the CBI 

was alerted to the fact that efforts by 

Peruvian growers to export the traditional 

maca root to the EU were severely hampered 

by the novel food regulation. Several 

cases were reported of maca shipments not 

being allowed into the EU. The CBI stated 

to the EU that the regulation effectually 

poses a trade barrier for exporters from developing 

countries growing these exotic 

traditional foods. 

VERY COSTLY 

Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp/Chakon) is 

a high-altitude Andean plant of the 

Brassicaceae/Cruciferae, or mustard, family. 

It has been grown for centuries by indigenous 

peoples in the Puna highlands of 

Peru, both as a staple food crop and for 

medicinal purposes. It is now finding applications 

as a food and as a pharmaceutical 

ingredient. In order to export maca, the 

growers had to make sure it applied to 

the very strict procedures of the novel 

food regulation. This included putting the 

product through a complete safety assessment 

procedure and providing scientific 

evidence, which is very costly and must be 

paid for by the exporter. As a result, exporters 

of maca were confronted with impossible 

expenses. The alternative given by 

the regulation was to provide evidence that 

the root had been consumed ‘to a significant 

degree within the EU before 15 May 

1997’. This proved to be a difficult task as 

well. CBI consultant Dolf Eshuis, who assisted 

the Peruvian exporters, put a lot of 

effort into providing evidence of earlier exports, 

but due to the small volumes involved 

and poor export and import administration, 

he couldn’t make a case for 

maca. 

LOBBYING IN BRUSSELS 

The CBI then mobilized forces to alert 

Brussels to the maca case. This was done in 

cooperation with Dolf Eshuis, who has contacts 

with importers and Peruvian exporters, 

Dutch controlling authorities and 

ministe-rial representatives. The Dutch 

Ministry of Development Cooperation’s 

Sustainable Economic Development department 

(DDE) and the Coherence Unit 

took up the maca case as well, pleading 

with the Dutch representative in the EU 

novel foods commission to stick up for exporters 

of exotic traditional foods from developing 

countries. The efforts paid off in 

the end. After several meetings in Brussels, 

the maca case finally grabbed some attention. 

By May this year, maca food products 

were exempted from the novel foods procedures. 

That means they now have merely 

to comply with the simplified procedure 

related to existing foods. 

MORE BARRIERS TO GO 

For Peru’s maca growers, this is good 

news. They can now export their food 

products to the EU market without facing 

unreasonable requirements. However, for 

many other exotic traditional foods the 

door to the EU is not yet open. The CBI is 

eager to reduce trade barriers for these 

products as well, for the simple reason that 

leaving the barriers in place will deprive 

Europeans of some great flavours and traditional 

communities in developing countries 

from export opportunities that will 

help safeguard their future production. 

Useful links: 

• Analysis of legislation on Novel Foods and 

GMO’s in AccessGuide: 

www.cbi.nl/accessguide 

• Novel Foods website of the EU: 

http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/novel_foo 

d/nf_index_en.html 


The CBI regularly publishes EU market surveys. An overview of recently published surveys and some highlights per 

survey are presented on the following pages. The complete surveys can be downloaded – free of charge for exporters 

and business support organizations in developing countries – from our website at www.cbi.nl. Go to the download 

plaza in the exporters or business support section of the website and click on market surveys. Alternatively, hard 

copies or cd-roms of the surveys can be obtained according to availability. This applies exclusively to exporters and 

business support organizations in developing countries – through a written request to the CBI. 

Shake 

your 

bodywear 

The bodywear market 

is full of excitement 

and danger 

Developments in the European bodywear market 

show a number of opportunities for exporters in 

developing countries. Demand for bodywear is expected 

to increase, while the share of developing 

countries is also rising. European Union expansion 

poses a threat, as does the upcoming elimination 

of quotas on January 1, 2005. 

Demand for bodywear in the European 

Union is expected to continue to increase 

slightly in the coming years as the number 

of per capita garment purchases rises. Total 

EU-15 consumption of bodywear amounted 

to € 31.2 billion in 2003. Between 2000 

and 2003 bodywear consumption rose by 

6.3 percent – an annual average increase of 

2.1 percent. Consumption decreased in 

Germany and the Netherlands in 2003. The 

United Kingdom showed the highest 

growth rate (+4.4 percent), followed by 

Italy (+2.4 percent), France (+2.0 percent) 

and Spain (+1.2 percent). Belgian and 

Austrian consumers are the EU’s biggest 

per capita spenders on bodywear. 

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 

The growth in imports from developing 

countries between 2001 and 2002 was limited 

to 4.0 percent. However, the developing 

world still did a lot better than other 

non-EU countries (-1%). Intra-EU trade 

also dropped (-3%). Total EU-15 imports of 

bodywear amounted to almost € 17.9 billion 

in 2002. Germany remained the leading 

importer, with an import share of 23% 

in terms of value, followed by the UK, 

France, Italy and the Netherlands. Several 

trends became visible between 2000 and 

2002: 

• Imports from Central and Eastern 

European Countries (CEECs) increased 

considerably (+75%) although their share 

remained limited; 

• Imports from Mediterranean countries, 

like Turkey, Tunisia and Morocco, grew 

steadily (+21%); 

• Imports from Asian low-price suppliers 

increased very slightly (+1.4%); 

• Imports from Central and South 

American developing countries stabilized 

after a 7% fall in 2001; 

• Imports from African, Caribbean and 

Pacific (ACP) countries decreased by almost 

12%. 

PRODUCTION RELOCATION 

Because of the restructuring policies of 

many European manufacturing companies 

over the last two decades, clothing production 

has been largely relocated. Labour 

costs are the main consideration here. 

Production of bodywear in the EU-15 decreased 

by about 4% between 2000 and 

2002 (in value) and the figures for 2002- 

2004 are expected to show a further decrease. 

Recent import trends indicate that 

production is being moved from Asia to 

Mediterranean and CEE countries. The advantage 

of these locations is that they are 

near enough to the market for quick responses 

to new fashions and to sudden 

changes in EU retailer demand. The facts 

that order times are getting shorter all the 

time and that the size of the average order 

is decreasing also contribute to this relocation 

trend. 


EU EXPANSION AND QUOTAS 

The expansion of the EU poses an 

imminent threat to bodywear producers 

in developing countries. 

Although the ten nations that 

joined the EU on May 1 2004 are 

relatively small, they are all net exporters 

of clothing. And right behind 

them, the EU’s second 

biggest clothing supplier, Turkey, 

is gearing up to join the union, too. 

Another serious threat is the elimination 

of quotas on January 1, 

2005. This legislative change will 

cause prices to drop, as companies 

will no longer be required to purchase 

quotas before shipping garments 

to the EU. Products likely to 

undergo the biggest price reductions 

are those manufactured in 

Asian countries. So far, they have 

been subject to higher tariffs than 

those levied on products from EU 

neighbours in the CEE region and 

the Mediterranean Rim. Tariffs 

and trade barriers other than 

quota will play a more important 

role. 

Go to www.cbi.nl for a free copy of the 

complete survey. 

For IT experts in developing countries, 

success is on the wire 

Click on 

offshore 

The global software market and IT services industry 

is rife with opportunities for developing countries. 

The advantages they offer, such as low labour costs 

and government support, can make them very 

attractive for companies in the European Union. 

SOFTWARE PRODUCTS 

The total market for software products in the 

EU-15 amounted to € 61 billion in 2003, an increase 

of 2.1% compared to 2002. This market 

consists of system software (€ 31.6 billion in 

2003) and application software (€ 29.3 billion). 

The largest market was Germany, followed by 

the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the 

Netherlands and Sweden. The software market 

in new EU member states increased by 13.2% to 

a value of € 2.0 billion in 2003. The total 

European market for software products is expected 

to grow by some 10% to a value of € 67.8 

billion between 2003 and 2005. 

IT SERVICES 

The total market for IT services in the EU-15 

was worth € 114.8 billion in 2003, a slight increase 

from the year before. This market can be 

subdivided into implementation (€ 48 billion), 

support services (€ 31.7 billion), operations 

management (€ 24.2 billion) and consulting 

(€ 10.9 billion). The UK was the largest EU 

market for IT services in 2003 and Germany the 

Table 1. Offshore locations compared (all outsourcing) Source: NeoIT, 2003 

second largest, followed by France, Italy, the 

Netherlands and Sweden. The IT services market 

in the new EU countries increased by 10% 

to a value of € 2.9 billion in 2003. The market 

for IT services is expected to reach a value of € 

122 billion in 2005, an increase of 6.5% compared 

to 2003. 

OUTSOURCING 

The value of European outsourcing contracts 

signed in 2003 reached € 26.4 billion, an increase 

of 67%. In Western Europe, the UK is the 

largest and most mature market; it currently 

represents 35% of the total European outsourcing 

market. Germany, Switzerland and 

Austria account for 22.8%, France represents 

12.8%, Italy and the Nordic regions represent 

7.7 and 7.2% percent, respectively, while Spain 

and Portugal hold 4.6% of the total market. The 

most important reasons for outsourcing 

among European companies include cost savings, 

the need for specialized skills, and a lack 

of in-house expertise. The most important services 

that EU companies outsourced in 2003 

included: 

• Software maintenance and support; 

• Hardware maintenance and support; 

• Development and integration. 

European companies that do not outsource are 

generally smaller companies that believe they 

have sufficient in-house experience at their disposal. 

OFFSHORE LOCATIONS 

India is the number one destination for offshore 

outsourcing, although other Asian and 

Central and Eastern European countries are 

emerging as well. Characteristics that make a 

destination attractive are related to government 

support, labour, infrastructure, education, 

cost advantages, quality, cultural compatibility, 

time/distance advantage and the 

language proficiency of employees (Table 1 

shows why India has become the number one 

outsourcing country). 

Go to www.cbi.nl for a free copy of the complete survey. 

India Philippines China Russia Ireland 

Government support high medium low low high 

Labour high medium medium high low 

Infrastructure medium high low low high 

Education high medium high high high 

Cost advantage high high high high low 

Quality high medium low medium medium 

Cultural compatibility medium high low medium high 

Time/distance advantage high high high medium low 

English proficiency high high low low high 


New looks for the CBI 

The CBI changes its looks. It is only a matter of weeks now before 

the institute will have a new logo and adapt its corporate identity. 

This is the result of a long ‘development process’ in close cooperation 

with Adequaat Communicatie Adviseurs. They guided 

A company to be 

proud of – 

the CBI 

and the 

ripples in 

the pond 

By Leon Pieter den Hollander 

After dedicating some four years 

to her “very own club”, deputy 

director Barbara Joziasse recently 

said farewell to the CBI. It was 

her turn: as a rule, officials with 

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 

change positions every four 

years. Joziasse is moving to the 

Ministry of Economic Affairs in 

The Hague in order to continue 

her mission for developing countries 

as Deputy Director Foreign 

Trade and Investments. Anneke 

Wevers has meanwhile taken 

over from Barbara. The CBI 

News Bulletin had a double 

interview with the leaving and 

the coming lady. 

) cbi news ( 

The price of an oil barrel, the dollar, and 

global trade politics may be factors that 

cannot be influenced. But the position of 

individual companies in developing 

countries can. This is the core business of 

the Centre for the Promotion of Imports 

from Developing Countries in the 

Netherlands (CBI) and departing deputy 

director Barbara Joziasse is thankful that 

she could contribute positively to this 

goal for the past four years. 

In July she left the CBI and she makes no 

secret of it: it hurt. Even though her new 

position with the Dutch Ministry of 

the CBI-staff in developing a new look and feel that fits the 

CBI identity better. Sparkling, businesslike and dynamic are 

some of the core values that you will find in the new corporate 

identity. It will be adapted as of September 1, with the exception 

of the CBI News Bulletin. 

This magazine will be adapted by the end of this year. In the next 

issue we will tell you all the details on these changes. 

Barbara Joziasse (left) and Anneke Wevers (photo 

Leon Pieter den Hollander). 

Economic Affairs is a challenging one, she 

will miss the enthusiastic members of her 

team. “The CBI has a staff of 35 people and 

many dozens of consultants work hard for 

what may be one of the most effective forms 

of development assistance: strengthening 

the competitive positions of companies that 

are eager to export to the EU. Reaching this 

produces immediate employment – and 

additional employment may very well be 

one of the most direct improvements to be 

achieved in a country. Companies with in- 


creased turnovers and profits have a lot of 

influence on their surroundings, like ripples 

spreading across pond. Their employees 

have more to spend, can qualify for 

education and social services, and can offer 

their children a better living. Ultimately, 

that's our goal. So strengthening the market 

positions of these companies in the EU is a 

matter of self-interest for all parties involved, 

and it produces a very sustainable 

form of development assistance.” 

This assistance is very much 

needed, Joziasse knows from 

long-standing experience in the 

developing world. Though 

their position may have improved 

a bit during the past 

few years, these countries still 

do not have a fair share in international 

trade. Compared to 

the industrialized world, the 

gap is growing rather than diminishing. 

For that reason, 

Joziasse is happy with the CBI’s 

current development towards 

loosening itself from its position 

as a nationally operating 

institute in the Netherlands and growing 

into an agency with the ambition to reach 

an increasing number of trading partners 

in the expan-ding European Union. 

PROBLEMS ARE CHALLENGES 

Anneke Wevers, wholeheartedly agrees. 

She takes over from Barbara not only in her 

position as deputy director with the CBI, 

but also as head of the International 

Projects & Training section. This is one of 

the four sections of the CBI and an important 

one. Its tasks include preparing all 

courses for managers and salespeople of 

promising companies in developing countries 

in order to increase their potential on 

the EU market. 

“But we are not only concerned about those 

companies,” says Wevers, who knew the 

CBI long before her changeover. “The institutes 

and persons surrounding it who 

are important for the growth of those companies 

also qualify for our programmes. 

National Chambers of Commerce, for example, 

business support organizations in 

the countries involved, their diplomats in 

Europe – everybody who can contribute to 

strengthening the competitive force of 

privileged, individual companies in the 

more than thirty countries for which we 

work, is welcome here: for training, for participation 

in major trade fairs, for education 

in order to set to work themselves as trainers 

in their own countries and more.” 

The fact that there are so many possibilities 

of position improvement for all those parties, 

makes the CBI work very motivating, 

says Wevers. “I have been looking around 

here for several weeks now. What strikes 

me most, apart from the enormous 

commitment of all my colleagues, is their 

self-assurance. The pleasure they have in 

sharing their knowledge with everybody 

else, especially in exchanging information 

and solving problems together. Problems? 

I mean challenges!” 

A PECULIAR POSITION 

Like her predecessor, Wevers has a lot of 

domestic and international experience in 

the CBI's field of work. In earlier positions 

related to environment and knowledge 

management within the Ministry of 

Foreign Affairs in The Hague, she trotted 

the globe, always eager to broaden knowledge 

and experience. So she has plunged 

into the work with the CBI with pleasure. 

In her view, the CBI is one of the most practical 

and goal-oriented organizations in the 

field of development assistance. For many 

people, she explains, the CBI has a peculiar 

position: “We are all officials of Foreign 

Affairs, but we work for the Minister of 

Development Co-operation. Politically 

Minister van Ardenne of Development Cooperation, 

the ministry that supplies our 

budgets, is our boss. We work closely together 

with, for example, the Ministry of 

Economic Affairs (Barbara Joziasse's new 

post, ed.).” 

“The European Union will be another 

major partner with whom we will increasingly 

and closely collaborate in the near 

future. The CBI has European ambitions 

and will spread its wings more and more in 

that direction. That means trade promotion 

in more and more European countries, also 

in the ten new member states to which the 

CBI News Bulletin is currently devoting a 

series of comprehensive articles.” 

BUSINESS-LIKE 

Wevers is one of the five members of the 

CBI staff. The others are General Manager 

Ton Lansink and the heads of the Trade 

Promotion Section (Dick de Man), the 

Market Information & Trade Intermediary 

Section (Hugo Verhoeven) and the Account 

& General Affairs section (Bouke van der 

Pol). Barbara Joziasse is convinced she will 

often meet these, and many other colleagues 

in her new position as Deputy 

Director Foreign Trade and Investments 

with the Ministry of Economic 

Affairs. But the numerous contacts 

she had for the CBI inside 

and outside Europe will also 

come in handy in her new position. 

“We change every four 

years. I’m very pleased with 

my new job, although I will 

miss the CBI very much. And 

I’m not sure what sort of organizational 

climate awaits me. 

The CBI is a very business-like 

institute. We always think in 

terms of cost and profit, we all 

account for our hours and we 

are assessed as to our output. 

The CBI really is a company whose profit 

is, so to say, expressed in the success of our 

partners. It’s a company to be proud of.” 

SENSE OF PRIDE 

Anneke Wevers has made herself fully familiar 

with that sense of pride many CBI 

employees share during her first few weeks 

on the job. “Generating more employment 

and better profits for companies in developing 

countries is a very effective way of 

fighting poverty. Our main concern is profit 

improvement for companies in carefully 

selected sectors and countries. Alle money 

is spent well. Therefore it’s effectiveness is 

so large. It’s all about enhancing the positive 

stimuli of the laws of supply and demand. 

We offer the companies in question 

the support they need. We try to identify 

trade barriers and pinpoint failing legislation 

and inform the Minister about the effects 

these have on the state of affairs in developing 

countries. We do market analyses, 

we provide information in various fields – 

like our Access Guide database, for example 

– and we try to prepare our partners as 

best as possible to improve their difficult 

position in the European market, with its 

numerous limitations and informal obstacles. 

I can only say that promoting these 

processes and contributing to them is very 

rewarding.” 

) cbi news ( CBI News Bulletin page 20

The CBI has joined hands with two major 

Norwegian organizations with an interest 

in promoting imports from developing 

countries. One of the first results of 

the new relationship is that the CBI’s 

matchmaking database, aimed at bringing 

together developing country exporters 

and European importers, is now 

linked to a similar Norwegian facility. 

The Dutch and Norwegians also hope to 

join arms in the battle against non-tariff 

trade barriers and to throw together their 

market information for developing country 

exporters. 

On June 8 2004, the Norwegian minister for 

international development cooperation, 

Hilde Frafjord Johnson, officially opened the 

‘HSH company matching database’. The 

matchmaking facility is the first joint project 

of the CBI, NORAD (Norwegian Agency for 

Development Co-operation) and the 

Federation of Norwegian Commercial and 

Service Enterprises (HSH). The database is 

an extended version of the CBI’s matchmaking 

database aiming at bringing together 

developing country exporters and European 

importers – including Norwegians. 

NORWAY NEEDS A BOOST 

The Norwegian minister is eager to see the 

new project succeed, she said. “I would like 

to express the hope that this tool will contribute 

to a substantial increase in imports 

to Norway from developing countries, and 

in particular from the least developed 

countries.” 

Norway, said Frafjord Johnson, badly 

needs to boost its imports from these countries. 

“Our imports from developing countries 

are minimal compared to those of the 

Netherlands, for instance. I hope the link 

we’ve now established with the CBI can 

Welcome 

Norway 

The CBI joins forces 

with two major 

Norwegian institutes 

The Norwegian Minister for International Development 

Co-operation, Hilde Frafjord Johnson. 

rectify this imbalance.” 

The CBI is also highly in favour of co-operating 

with other organizations, as the task 

of assisting developing countries in increasing 

their exports to Europe is huge 

and real progress requires joint efforts. 

THE MATCHMAKING DATABASE 

The first joint Dutch-Norwegian project is 

based on the matchmaking database 

launched earlier by the CBI. Through a mirror 

construction on the HSH website, 

Norwegian companies interested in importing 

from developing countries now 

have access to around 550 high-quality ex- 

From left to right: Hugo Verhoeven, Thomass Angell, 

director HSH, minister Hilde Frafjord Johnson (centre), 

Ton Lansink, director of the CBI, Ellen Gjeruldsen 

(HSH) and her colleague (photo Tone Slenes). 

porters from over 25 different countries in 

Africa, Asia and Latin America – all selected 

and screened by the CBI. The developing 

country exporters, in turn, can now 

visit the HSH website (www.hsh-org.no) to 

hunt for Norwegian importers. 

TRADE BARRIERS 

A second area in which the CBI, NORAD 

and HSH plan to work together relates to 

non-tariff trade barriers (NTBs). Norway has 

severely reduced its import tariffs for most 

products in recent years, in many cases to 

zero percent. At the same time the 

Norwegian government recognizes that 

non-tariff trade barriers are increasingly hindering 

exporters from developing countries 

to access the Norwegian market – and wants 

to do something about it. The CBI is 

equipped to help the Norwegians. It has extensive 

experience in this area, having built 

AccessGuide, its huge online database on 

non-tariff trade barriers in the EU. By the end 

of 2004, Norway hopes to have a similar 

database aimed at creating transparency for 

developing country exporters concerning 

Norwegian legislative and non-legislative 

requirements in the field on environmental, 

health, safety and social issues. 

MARKET SURVEYS 

A third area of cooperation concerns the 

CBI’s market surveys. For priority sectors, 

such as garments, furniture and fruit and 

vegetables, the CBI will add Norwegian 

market information from now on. The first 

market survey to include Norwegian facts 

and figures is expected to be available by 

the end of August 2004. 

Like the CBI, the Norwegian government 

attaches a lot of importance to the role that 

international trade can play in the economic 

development of developing countries 

by contributing to an increase in income 

and creating employment. It is against this 

background that the CBI started working 

together with NORAD and HSH in the first 

place. The two Norwegian institutes already 

work closely together: NORAD’s 

Department for Civil Society and Private 

Sector Development is mainly responsible 

for policy making and funding, whereas 

HSH is commissioned by NORAD to implement 

policy by carrying out specific activities 

to promote Norway’s imports from 

developing countries. 


) 

promotional 

events 

( 

Automechanika: 

pole position 

with the CBI 

Globalisation of the economy is racing 

ahead, favouring Western economies and 

the developing countries. While economies 

are improving, production is being shifted 

and this also applies to the automotive market. 

In particular, it concerns the market for 

spare parts. There are a good many companies 

in developing countries that can make 

a significant contribution to product development, 

quality control by - and sales margin 

improvements for – European manufacturers. 

European companies in the sector 

can take advantage of this trend by linking 

into the right business partner(s) in the developing 

world. The CBI will be supporting 

a group of about 15 companies at the 

Automechanika 2004 Trade Fair. European 

producers can profit from the qualitative 

and quantitative capacity on offer, to give 

them a pole position in the race. 

SAVE TIME-CONSUMING RESEARCH 

The CBI makes it really easy to meet preselected 

manufacturers who present a 

highly qualified range, covering both standard 

products and production capacity. 

The latter can be matched to suit the wishes 

and specifications of individual clients. 

The vantage point for European importers, 

dealers and/or producers is the saving of 

time-consuming and costly research, while 

being able to profit from hyper-competitive 

purchasing markets. The CBI-supported 

exporters’ offers will include accessories, 

car upholstery and seat covers, electric 

and/or electronic parts and components, 

engine parts, radiators and coolers, rubber 

products, bumpers, and instrument panels. 

WHERE TO FIND THE CBI 

The Automechanika Trade Fair will be held 

in Frankfurt am Main’s Messe from 

September 14 – 19. The CBI pavilion will be 

located in Hall 6.3, stands E50 – E68. For 

more information about the fair go to 

www.automechanika.de 

Taking the 

AquaTech 

plunge 

CBI to attend water management fair 

for the first time 

Water is to the Dutch what mountains are 

to the Swiss, what snow is to the Inuit 

and what sand is to Saharans. No wonder 

the Dutch capital city, Amsterdam, 

appropriately situated several feet below 

sea level, is the scene of the bi-annual 

AquaTech trade fair on water management. 

The CBI will be attending the fair 

for the first time this year. 

The AquaTech exhibition is held every 

other year in Amsterdam and is a prime occasion 

for the Dutch to show the world just 

how they’ve survived the battle against 

rain, rivers and the North Sea throughout 

the centuries – emerging as one of the 

world’s leading countries in the fields of 

flow control, water treatment, land reclamation, 

dredging, harbour development, 

pumping and potable water management. 

But the Dutch aren’t the only ones who 

know wet from dry. The CBI stand at 

AquaTech 2004 will host eight companies 

from India, Egypt and Colombia who 

know a thing or two about keeping afloat in 

Aquatech in the Amsterdam RAI complex is one of 

Europe’s leading trade fairs on water management 

(photo Leon Pieter den Hollander). 

the water industry, too. The companies’ 

products range from foot valves, axial flow 

pumps and sluice valves to metering 

pumps, ball valves, pipe fittings, boiler 

feed water pumps and large butterfly 

valves. All these products are used extensively 

in the water industry and are necessary 

tools for controlling or managing an 

abundance of water. The companies are enrolled 

in the CBI’s export development programme 

for pipe and pipe related products 

and subcontracting. 

WHERE TO FIND THE CBI 

The AquaTech trade fair will be held in 

Amsterdam’s Rai complex from September 

28 to October 1. The CBI pavilion will be 

located in Hall 7, Stand 440 For more 

information about the fair, go to 

www.aquatechtrade.com. 


Spreading the 

good news 

Sana Cherdal (right) and Robbie Hogervorst (CBI) tell their story in a series of 

international trade events hosted by Dutch regional Chambers of Commerce. 

The CBI is invited to tell its story 

to Dutch entrepreneurs 

As a part of its efforts to promote its services and policies 

among Dutch importers, the CBI recently participated in a series 

of international trade events hosted by several regional 

Chambers of Commerce in the Netherlands. 

The themes of the series of events were ‘International business’ 

and ‘Importing from developing countries’. In addition to presenting 

itself at the information fairs accompanying the events, 

the CBI was also requested to organize six workshops on three of 

the four days. The workshops, hosted by CBI consultant 

Maréchal Desmet, were well attended. A total of 139 people representing 

107 companies took part. “We can safely say the CBI 

got some very positive publicity”, says Desmet. 

EASY TO EXPLAIN 

The theme of the trade events made it easy to explain to participants 

that there are really only two institutes in the Netherlands 

actively involved in import promotion and mediation: the chambers 

of commerce and the far more specialized CBI. “It’s a striking 

fact, especially if you realize that there are large numbers of 

often subsidized organizations involved in export mediation”, 

says Desmet. “It was an eye-opener to many people.” 

The same can be said about the range of services the CBI offers. 

Says Desmet, “The chambers of commerce faithfully send all 

their entrepreneurs interested in importing from a developing 

country to the CBI, as the CBI has everything it takes.” 

One of the things Desmet emphasized during the workshops is 

that exporters expect quality from importers as much as importers 

do from exporters – and that the CBI stresses this in all 

its training programmes. Also, he reminded his listeners of the 

central CBI message: “Importing is a long-term tough, but extremely 

fascinating business in many ways - physically, financially, 

socially, culturally, economically and especially mentally.” 

) 

technical 

assistance / 

company visits 

Traffic between Europe and 

developing countries is getting heavier 

in the car parts sector 

Give me a brake 

The CBI will be participating in Automechanika trade fair in 

Frankfurt, Germany, this september with at least seventeen 

companies from Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, India, the 

Philippines and Tanzania. Some of these already attended the 

EquipAuto event last October in Paris and are busy following 

up orders and negotiating with prospective clients they met 

there while preparing for Frankfurt as well. “It usually takes a 

long time to convince prospects you are a better supplier than 

the one they have”, says CBI consultant Nico Stok. 

Many companies that have passed through the CBI’s export development 

programme for automotive equipment and car parts 

are now successful exporters to the European Union. Most participants 

are ISO 9000-, QS 9000- and ISO 14000- certified. Some 

are even TS-certified or applying for this certification. 

In addition to trade fairs, the programme also emphasizes business-to-business 

(B2B) as a way of getting in touch with potential 

buyers or partners. The CBI consultants are currently approaching 

European companies with a promotional CBI brochure and 

a list of selected CBI participants with the products they manufacture. 

By means of a reply form the Europeans can ask the consultants 

to contact them and to give advice before they approach 

( 

A product sample of Egypt’s MAK Brake Lining Co. 


any of the participants. In this way the 

Egyptian company MAK Brake Lining was 

granted a trial order from a Dutch company 

specialized in truck parts. 

EGYPT: ON THE BRAKES 

One of the companies that participated in 

EquipAuto, MAK Brake Linings from 

Egypt is a brake lining manufacturer that 

produces blocks, moulded rolls and pads 

according its own technology, homologated 

with ‘E-marked’ technology. The CBI 

visited Egypt in June. The company has already 

booked some success. Says Stok, 

“They were selected by one of the world’s 

leading companies in the field of brake linings 

to supply a commercial vehicle lining 

and disc brake pads. Just before our visit, 

they finished their audit, which they 

passed successfully.” 

The Egyptians are expecting 

orders to start coming 

in soon. Meanwhile, another 

large, new client 

wants to expand its contract 

with MAK and negotiations 

with other prospects are underway. MAK 

Brake Linings and AKL, another Egyptian 

producer of accessories like wheel caps and 

mirrors, will both attend Automechanika 

with their own stand. Another Egyptian 

company that attended EquipAuto last 

year, Faik Manufacturing, is currently 

shipping its first order of brake-discs 

abroad. Faik Manufacturing produces 

various automotive parts. Its main export 

product is brake-discs (ventilated as well 

as solid discs). Says Stok, “Faik is still 

negotiating with other prospects, but 

they’re in a very positive mood and they 

expect to finalize some of those contracts at 

Brake discs and tools from Egypt’s Faik 

Manufacturing Co. 

A production machine from IDACO, an Egyptian wiring-harness 

manufacturer, and a CBI participant. 

Automechanika.” One newcomer from 

Egypt, Autocool, will also be present at the 

CBI stand at Auto-mechanika. Autocool will 

be exhibiting condensers and radiators. 

) ( 

They were selected by one of the world’s 

leading companies 

in the field of brake linings 

COLOMBIA: FIRST TIME 

Two companies from Colombia attended 

EquipAuto for the first time last year. 

Both are producers of command cables for 

the automotive, agriculture and related 

markets. One of them is negotiating with a 

European for the OE market. Both are negotiating 

with companies active in the aftermarket. 

One of them, Guayas, will also 

be present at Automechanika. 

INDIA: NEW CONTACTS 

India was represented by five companies at 

EquipAuto. Only one of them was a firsttimer. 

During the fair, this company landed 

a large order from a European company active 

in the aftermarket for rubber parts. The 

other companies had meetings with existing 

contacts and gained new contacts. 

EquipAuto resulted in orders and negotiations 

for expanding orders. The companies 

in question produce electric parts, engine 

parts and rubber or rubber/metal parts. 

Three of the Indian companies will also 

participate in Automechanika. Six other 

Indian companies that participated at 

Automechanika in 2002 will also be present 

at this year’s fair. 

PAKISTAN: SUBCONTRACTING 

Two companies from Pakistan took part in 

EquipAuto. One of them produces several 

stamped parts and components made of 

stamped metal, such as mechanical window 

regulators. This company is now in 

contact with suppliers of electric window 

regulators in Europe to become a subcontractor 

for mechanical parts. The other produces 

carpeting isolation material and silencing 

material on the reel. Neither of 

these two will attend Automechanika. 

SOUTH AFRICA: KNOWLEDGE 

TRANSFER 

One company from South Africa went to 

EquipAuto with the CBI. The company is in 

contact with two European companies as a 

possible supplier of plastic moulded parts. 

It has another contact with one European 

company regarding the transfer of knowledge 

from South Africa to Europe concerning 

a patented system of surface 

coating with synthetic materials. South 

Africa will not be represented at the CBI 

stand during Automechanika, as it has an 

independent stand. 

OTHER COUNTRIES 

The CBI stand will also host 

some participants at Automechanika 

from countries 

that did not exhibit at 

EquipAuto. One is a company 

from Tanzania that produces copper 

radiators and enjoyed extra publicity in a 

Japanese television programme about the 

Automechanika in 2002. A company that 

produces automotive and industrial rubber 

parts from the Philippines will also attend 

the fair, as well as a producer of brake 

linings, brake pads and friction material 

from Ecuador. 

Lively discussions on the spot. 


) 

seminars and 

workshops 

( 

In the mind of the average European the 

Latin American country of Ecuador takes 

up precious little space. And what space 

it does occupy is ringing with bad vibes 

about drugs, corruption and political instability. 

Laments Mentor Villagomez, 

Ecuador’s ambassador to the European 

Union, “Our country’s bad image affects 

my work all the time. Ecuador is not 

taken seriously.” Luckily for Villagomez, 

all that may be about to change. If COR- 

PEI/CBI’s ambitious new seminar on 

country branding catches on, Ecuador 

will soon be no less than ‘the centre of the 

world’ – or at least a little closer to it. 

“Every country in the world has to compete 

for a limited amount of mindspace 

among consumers, tourists, investors and 

whoever else they wish to attract. Most 

people in Europe never think about 

Ecuador and if they do, their thoughts are 

likely to be negative and incorrect. So the 

country of Ecuador, if it wants to draw the 

attention of these people, has to get stories 

into their heads. Positive stories. True stories. 

Stories that don’t conflict with each 

other and that are bound together by a clear 

and exciting vision of the kind of country 

Ecuador is becoming.” 

An ambitious new CBI seminar on country branding 

encourages nations to reshape their image 

Brand 

new 

Ecuador 

By Stephen D. Teeuwen 

Malcolm Allan is one of the directors of 

Placebrands Ltd., a United Kingdom-based 

consultancy specialized in using brand 

strategy to add economic, social and cultural 

value to cities, regions and countries. 

Allan is convinced that ‘placebranding’, as 

he calls it, is a key instrument for developing 

countries eager to get their slice of the 

global pie. 

To explore that proposition, the CBI and its 

Ecuadorian counterpart, the Exports and 

Investment Promotion Corporation of 

Ecuador (CORPEI), invited Allan and his 

team to run a three-day seminar in June on 

‘Developing and Managing a Brand 

Branding Ecuador, a theme leading to stimulating 

exchanges of thoughts (photo De Jong & Van Es). 

for Ecuador’. Eighteen high-profile 

Ecuadorian government and corporate sector 

representatives attended the seminar in 

Rotterdam, the Netherlands, including a 

new CBI target group: the country’s ministers 

of tourism and foreign affairs and a 

dozen ambassadors to EU countries. 

A MAJOR HANDICAP 

Juan Salazar Sancisi, Ecuador’s ambassador 

to France, is well aware that his country 

could use some image building. “Some 

countries in our region are known for narcotics, 

guerrillas and worse, but we’ve discovered 

that Ecuador is not known at all, at 

least not in France. The one thing people 

know about are the beautiful Galapagos 

Islands – but few know they are part of 

Ecuador.” 

Salazar’s colleague Mentor Villagomez, 

who is based in Brussels, Belgium, says his 

country’s negative or obscure image is a 

major handicap in his work with the EU. 

“At a recent summit in Mexico for Latin 

American, Caribbean and European countries 

we wanted a declaration that free 


trade negotiations between the EU and our 

country will soon be initiated. We fought 

hard for that declaration for over three 

years. But in the end, we didn’t get it. Why? 

Because of our bad image. They don’t think 

we’re capable of engaging in serious commercial 

partnerships.” 

Villagomez has two worries when it comes 

to his country’s image. “The first is that 

there are a lot of false notions. For instance, 

we can’t get the idea out of the heads of 

Europeans that Ecuador is riddled with 

corruption, whereas we’ve made a lot of 

progress in that area recently. My second 

worry is that some of the notions staining 

our image are in fact true. We do have some 

problems. And it will take a lot of political 

will and effort to solve them.” 

TAKING CONTROL 

Nation branding, says Malcolm Allan, is 

largely about taking control. “Many 

Europeans don’t know what Ecuador 

stands for, but the Ecuadorians aren’t 

telling us either. They’re letting other distributors 

of information, like CNN, decide 

what the world hears about Ecuador. Much 

of that information is random and negative. 

And on top of that, it tends to be exaggerated 

in the minds of consumers. 

Ecuador needs to take control of the information 

process, to let the world know there 

are better stories to be told about the country, 

that there are good things happening 

there. And it needs to develop a vision 

of itself and its future, in which those 

Juan Salazar Sancisi, Ecuador’s ambassador to 

France. 

good stories can be related to each other.” 

During one seminar session, participants 

were encouraged to list the positive things 

they wish Europeans knew about Ecuador. 

The list was impressive. It included obvious 

attractions such as the Galapagos 

Islands and the country’s general geographical, 

climatic and biodiversity. But 

other tasty tidbits emerged as well: the fact 

that it’s seemingly endless border conflict 

with Peru was actually ended four years 

ago and the country has enjoyed peace ever 

since; the administrative excellence of its 

mayors; its low inflation rate (3.5%); its historic 

and cultural wealth; and more. Asked 

for a slogan that might sum up Ecuador’s 

Closely listening to challenging lectures on country 

branding. (photo’s De Jong & Van Es). 

bounties, some of the ambassadors waxed 

truly lyrical: ‘Ecuador, the centre of life!’, 

‘Ecuador, the centre of the world!’, 

‘Ecuador – as though you’re in heaven!’ 

ONLY THE BEGINNING 

Back in the real world, meanwhile, 

Malcolm Allan hastens to emphasize that a 

three-day seminar in a Rotterdam hotel 

room is far too short to develop the kind of 

vision needed to build a nation brand. 

“Nation branding takes many years. This 

seminar is no more than a kick-off, a con- 

Malcom Allan, director of Placebrands Ltd. Mentor Villagomez, Ecuador’s ambassador to the 

European Union. 


centrated effort to get a group of key people 

to think about the issue”, he says. Allan 

and the CBI staff had three basic objectives 

for the seminar: to give participants an understanding 

of the process of place branding; 

to begin to construct a road map towards 

agreeing on a vision and building a 

brand for Ecuador; and to get participants 

to allocate specific responsibilities amongst 

themselves for the construction of that road 

map. 

Continues Allan, “The real work has yet to 

start: research, agreeing on and defining 

The Big Idea, and then developing a plan to 

communicate that idea to the world 

through Ecuadorian emigrants, business 

people, cultural groups travelling abroad, 

ambassadors and, of course, the country’s 

own natural environment and civic design. 

Placebranding is a long-term project.” 

SOME DOUBTS 

Ambassador Villagomez is well aware of 

the complexity of the project he and his colleagues 

are likely to embark on as they return 

home. “This seminar has given me the 

conviction that country branding may 

work for us. I’m less sceptical than I was 

when I heard about it. But I also have some 

doubts. Company branding is not difficult, 

but in a country there are many controversies 

and conflicting interests that need solving. 

But I’m prepared to work hard on 

this. It’s good for the country.” 

Ricardo Estrada, executive president of 

CORPEI, was all enthusiasm towards the 

end of the seminar. “In the end it all boils 

down to money. But we believe this is a 

very necessary move for Ecuador.” 

CORPEI is more than eager to assert itself 

as a leading player in the Brand Ecuador 

deve-lopment, it turns out. “As a non-technical, 

non-political organization, we’re 

Ricardo Estrada, executive president of CORPEI. 

well-positioned to play a coordinating 

role.” France-based Juan Salazar believes 

the role he and his colleagues have as ambassadors 

is also ideal for contributing to 

nation branding. “After our conflict with 

Peru was finally settled four years ago, we 

began to develop a new view on diplomacy. 

We’re shifting from classic diplomacy to 

a more modern, promotion-focussed kind. 

The idea of nation branding fits into that 

perfectly.” 

TARGETING AMBASSADORS 

For the CBI, the seminar catches two birds 

with one stone. “In addition to the programmes 

we offer to entrepreneurs, business 

support organizations and commercial 

counsellors, we also want to target 

ambassadors of developing countries”, explains 

programme manager Titus Swartjes. 

“The country branding seminar seems to fit 

that ambition. We’re very eager to see how 

the Ecuadorians follow through. Their 

main challenge will be to develop and issue 

an integrated and consistent message to the 

world that sticks in the minds of people. It 

will require close co-operation between 

public and private sectors and organizations 

in Ecuador. If this seminar is the beginning 

of a positive, successful development 

in Ecuador, we’ll certainly be offering 

it to other countries as well.” 


Small-group, 

interactive ‘clinics’ 

inject new vigour 

into the CBI’s 

Expro seminar 

for chemicals 

By Stephen D. Teeuwen 

Clinically 

alive 

The CBI’s most recent export marketing 

seminar for the fine and specialty chemicals 

sector, Expro 49, was not quite the 

same as its predecessors. In addition to 

the usual lectures, presentations, group 

discussions and field visits, Expro 49 also 

included so-called ‘clinics’, or smallgroup 

sessions. The idea behind this addition 

was to fizz up the interactivity of 

the seminar. It worked a treat, says consultant 

Jan Ramakers. “The clinics made 

the whole seminar more intensive and 

edifying. There was much more time for 

direct interaction between participants 

than there was in the old set-up.” 

The Expro 49 seminar, held from June 14 to 

24 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, was part 

of the CBI’s export development programme 

for fine and specialty chemicals. A 

wide variety of companies from developing 

countries are enrolled in the programme. 

But whether they produce end 

) cbi news ( 

products or intermediates for the pharma 

industry or the chemical industry, they all 

have one thing in common: the ambition to 

gain entrance to the European Union market. 

During the seminar, they were introduced 

to the basic structure of the EU market, 

from trade and distribution channels to 

legislation and market trends. Also each individual 

company began to prepare a market 

entry strategy. In the next few months 

they will continue to work out their marketing 

plans with support from the CBI. By 

December 2004, those involved in pharmaceuticals, 

will attend the CPhI trade fair in 

Brussels for the first time. The chemical industry 

players have more time to prepare, 

as they are scheduled to attend the chemicals 

trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 

June 2005. 

SMALL-GROUP SETTING 

The clinics played a major role in helping 

participants prepare for market entry, says 

Jan Ramakers, CBI consultant an co-initiator of the 

Expro 49 seminar in Rotterdam (photo’s De Jong & 

Van Es). 

CBI consultant Jan Ramakers. “In the clinics 

we dealt with various subjects, like 

segmentation or distribution channels, in 

an interactive, in-depth way. What we did 

is put a group of five participants with similar 

business interests together in one 

group, along with a CBI consultant. As a 

small group, they had regular meetings 

with different consultants on specific topics 

throughout the seminar. It was more 

labour-intensive for the consultants, but 

certainly also more rewarding.” 

The small-group setting offered various advantages, 

says Ramakers. Participants 

could exchange information and experiences 

more effectively and the consultants 

could monitor their developments and respond 

more efficiently. “We’ve always had 

CBI News Bulletin page 28

one-on-one counselling sessions in addition 

to the seminars and will continue to do 

so in future Expro seminars, but the clinics 

added extra depth. They intensified the interaction 

so that it produced more results in 

terms of new insights and ideas – both for 

the participants and for the consultants.” 

NOT AFRAID OF EUROPE 

Nicolas Echavarria, director of the 

food colour division of Colombia’s 

Colorquimica, found the seminar and clinics 

hugely beneficial. “Although we’re a 

high-quality manufacturer, we have no experience 

in exporting to the European 

Union. Our product knowledge is good, 

but when it comes to the details of the 

European market, we’re blank. All we 

know is that Europe is the biggest market 

and has the highest standards in the 

world.” 

The seminar was an encouragement to 

Echavarria in that it showed him his company 

has no reason to be scared. “It’s easy 

to be afraid of Europe”, he says. “It’s so big, 

so highly developed. But our company 

produces high-quality goods that meet all 

the European requirements. In terms of 

pro-duct specifications, we’re ready for 

Europe. What we need to work on is our 

product presentations, logistics and knowledge 

of the European mar- 

ket. Those are things we can 

learn quickly.” 

Tushar Dixit of India’s Sky 

Bio-Pharma, a producer of 

API’s and pharma intermediates, was also 

rolling up his sleeves for action in Europe 

during the Expro seminar. “We’re not at all 

afraid of Europe”, he says. “We see it as a 

good opportunity to raise our standards 

and to be a fully equal partner. For us the 

central issue is gearing up our production 

facilities to European standards. That will 

be a time-consuming task, but not necessarily 

a complicated one.” 

VALUE ADDITION 

Tunisia’s Mohamed Lassâad Gargouri of 

the pharmaceutical manufacturer Dar 

Essaydali, points out that meeting the requirements 

is not enough. “Our products 

comply with all the regulations and standards, 

but that’s not a selling argument. In 

Europe, everyone can say that.” Gargouri’s 

company, therefore, is looking for opportunities 

to offer European buyers clear added 

value, for instance by offering itself as a 

high-quality subcontractor with the logistic 

advantage of being located near Europe. 

Nicolas Echavarria of Colombia confirms 

that even low prices are not as important as 

added-value. “As a Colombian manufacturer, 

we may not even be able to produce 

at cheaper prices, because of the logistic expenses 

involved in exporting to Europe. 

But even if we were cheap, I don’t think it 

would be enough. Value addition involves 

far more than that.” Echavarria’s company, 

he says, offers a very high degree of flexibility. 

“We’re currently only producing at 

sixty percent of our total capacity. Our food 

) 

Europe is simply the place to be, it’s the 

( 

world’s biggest market 

colour division is a strong, steady supplier 

and we can handle large volumes. The 

biggest European buyer wouldn’t fluster 

us.” Tushar Dixit of Sky Bio-Pharma says 

his company’s added-value may be in its 

capacity to produce advanced intermediates 

in collaboration with the buyer. “API’s 

are more complex, but as far as intermediates 

are concerned, our company is highly 

adaptable.” 

THE PLACE TO BE 

The main reason for the Expro participants 

to target Europe at all is that in the fine and 

special chemicals sector, Europe is simply 

the place to be. “It is the biggest, most advanced 

market in the world”, says consultant 

Jan Ramakers. “All the world’s major 

players in this sector are based in Europe. 

Serious manufacturers from other parts of 

the world can’t help but take note.” 

Colombia’s Nicolas Echavarria says his interest 

for Europe stems from the fact that it 

is not only big, but getting much bigger. 

Nicholas Echavarria and Mohamed Lasâad participating 

in one of the many lively discussions at Expro 49. 

“The European Union has just been expanded 

with ten new member countries. 

Each of those countries now has to take 

European requirements into account in 

their imports of pharmaceuticals and 

chemicals. The standards have suddenly 

become a lot higher for them than they 

were before their EU accession. That means 

there are new opportunities 

opening up and we want to 

try and make use of them.” 

Tunisia’s Mohamed 

Gargouri also has a keen 

eye on the Central Eastern 

European region, but his first interest, he 

admits, is France. “The absence of a language 

barrier and the fact that our countries 

already have considerable business relations 

simply means this is probably the 

most accessible market for us to start with. 

But we certainly want to look further than 

France.” 

Tushar Dixit, meanwhile, has his mind on 

the CPhI trade fair in December. “We’re 

looking for long-term partnerships, not 

one-off deals. We intend to be an active participant 

– not just to be there, but to have as 

many meetings with potential clients as we 

possibly can. We choose our contacts carefully, 

after much research, and only after 

we’ve become convinced working together 

will create a win-win situation. The CBI’s 

help in scanning the market for this kind of 

opportunity is all-important.” 


See you 

online! 

E-learning 

across 

the world 

In 2003 one of the first pre-Expro e-learning 

sessions took place at the CBI offices 

in Rotterdam. The participants in 

the CBI’s Expro 47 seminar for the castings 

and forgings sector willingly offered 

themselves as guinea pigs for this 

experiment. They helped demonstrate 

that distance does not have to be an insurmountable 

barrier – as long as it’s 

bridged by a common interest and the 

right technology. 

The rapid development and proliferation 

of Internet connections worldwide has 

made it possible to develop e-learning – a 

method of training and instructing students, 

like the exporters participating in the 

CBI’s export development programmes 

(EDPs) or representatives of business support 

organizations (BSOs) participating in 

the CBI’s BSO training programmes. 

These first e-learning sessions were preceded 

by some pilot projects in 2002 and 2003 

and an introduction of e-learning for CBI 

consultants. Instructor Ferry van Vliet, 

who represents an e-learning software 

company, was very clear in his introductory 

message to the participating consultants: 

e-learning is no longer just a promising 

concept: It works. Today. The CBI consultants 

were trained to work with a software 

system so they could start developing their 

teaching material. 

WHY E-LEARNING? 

E-learning is a valuable additional means 

of communicating with participants in the 

) cbi news ( 

The CBI’s first 

experiments with online 

teaching sessions are 

entirely positive 

By Martin Bitter 

CBI’s training programmes. It can be applied 

in the preparation for oncoming 

Expro or BSO seminars. In the Expro seminars, 

for instance, participants are encouraged 

to write an outline of their ‘Export 

Marketing Plan’, ideally based on their 

own company data. In preparing for this, elearning 

courses can help them research 

and analyse their data for later use. These 

e-learning sessions are explicitly aimed at 

improving the participants’ preparatory 

work – not to take lectures from the Expro 

seminar and give them away beforehand! 

This is really an implementation of what elearning 

was developed for: it instructs, 

discusses and tests – via multiple choice 

questions, Q&A sessions, or simply by getting 

students to explain their research results. 

E-learning can include ‘homework’ 

for students which they can then present in 

a session during the actual seminar. 

FOLLOW-UP 

E-learning can of course be applied in 

many other ways as well. The CBI also uses 

it to follow up on seminars and to monitor 

and discuss the progress EDP participants 

are making in preparation for a trade fair. 

Via e-learning, participants and consultants 

can discuss anything from their 

choice of exhibition products to application 

form problems or information about the 

trade fair booth, the lay-out of the fair. They 

can even view an artist’s impression of the 

exhibition space. In the run-up to the 

‘Industrie Messe Hannover 2004’, for example, 

all the companies that were selected 

for this exhibition (based on their progress 

during the Expro seminar) were invited to 

join an information session using the elearning 

technique. The various consultants 

involved in the Hannover Messe project 

were present to explain all the details 

regarding application forms, stand lay-out, 

stand photo’s and exhibition check lists. All 

of this information was of course communicated 

to the participants earlier in other 

ways. But knowing that information would 

be discussed in the group at a certain date 

and time encouraged participants to study 

the subject and the material beforehand. 

HOW DOES IT WORK? 

E-learning is simple, but very effective. All 

the students switch on their computers and 

log onto the CBI e-learning website at an 

agreed time. On this website, each student 

goes to the course he or she wants to participate 

in, using a log-in name and password 

previously supplied by CBI. The consultant, 

who is also online, sees the 

students entering the class as they log on 

and may welcome them by sending them a 

message or by talking to them directly. A 

picture of every student is displayed on the 

site to strengthen the classroom feeling. 

The students and teacher can communicate 

by talking to each other via a headset connected 

to their computer and of course by 

sending typed messages. The teacher prepares 

an agenda for each particular course 

as well as teaching materials, such as powerpoint 

presentations, web pages, or 

question and answer sessions that the students 

can go through together with the 

teacher. The e-learning sessions are in ‘real 

time’ and all students have to be ‘in class’ 

at the agreed time. CBI participants are located 

in countries all over the world. 

Consequently, they operate in different 

time zones. The e-learning sessions have to 

accommodate for these time zones. To do 

so, the countries represented by the participants 

are separated into geographic 

groups. That way everybody has a chance 

to join the class during more or less normal 

working hours. The consultant sometimes 

will lecture his class two or three times 

during the day to reach all the groups. 

CBI News Bulletin page 30

RAISE YOUR HAND 

E-learning is not the same as standard 

teacher-student communication. The people 

involved are present in a virtual classroom, 

where they cannot actually see each other. 

The principle is that the teacher ‘broadcasts’ 

his lessons: when he speaks everybody can 

hear him and when a student is required to 

give an answer the teacher has to give him 

or her ‘the floor’, so that his answer or question 

can be heard by every- 

one else. When a student 

wants to ask a question or 

make a remark he can send 

a short text message to the 

teacher, or click on a button 

on his screen to ‘raise his hand’. When the 

teacher notices the raised hand he will give 

control of the floor to the student, who can 

then pose his question to the group. The 

teacher often uses this raised hand button to 

check if everybody who is present in the 

classroom can understand him clearly. 

OUT OF HAND 

For the teacher, e-learning is a little like playing 

chess on more than one board at the 

same time: while talking to participants and 

explaining matters, he also has to monitor 

their signals and incoming text messages. 

And as students can broadcast general messages 

to their fellow-students as well, it is 

just like any other classroom: things can get 

out of hand if students strike up an interesting 

‘conversation’ and forget about what’s 

on the agenda! Fortunately for the teacher, 

he does have some technical tools at his disposal 

to counter this problem. Although this 

behaviour may not be what the e-learning 

session was meant for, it does show one 

other advantage of this type of preparation: 

participants can get to know each other 

quite well in a short space of time. They look 

at each other’s pictures and talk with one 

another. By the time the real seminar begins, 

the ice has been broken. During Expro 47 

seminar, for instance, participants from the 

same time zones greeted each other as old 

friends. It’s not a bad way to start a seminar: 

knowing the programme beforehand and 

knowing your fellow-participants, or at 

least some of them, as well. 

GETTING STARTED 

E-learning is new and therefore unfamiliar. 

But most students are eager to learn and it’s 

easy to get started ‘with a little help from 

your friends’ at the CBI. The software you 

need can be downloaded from our website, 

along with instructions on how to install it 

and to make sure that your audio system is 

functioning properly. Ideally, the CBI will 

contact every participant before the first e- 

learning session to make sure everything 

works. These ‘test sessions’ eliminate any 

technical questions and the consultant can 

also explain to students how they can react 

in the class. The consultants, however, will 

have to adapt their way of transferring 

knowledge. Missing direct feedback from 

participants will force the consultant to 

plan his lectures in a high degree of detail. 

The lecture plan or agenda should include 

) 

Adding a new meaning to the words 

( 

laptop computing… 

the points where the participants are 

required to react. The aim is to make e-learning 

as interactive as possible. Because 

e-learning is a very intensive process, sessions 

will be relatively short. To get the 

message across, it has to be short and simple. 

TECHNICAL PROBLEMS 

Obviously, relying on technical aids raises 

the risk of things malfunctioning. For instance, 

if a participant’s Internet connection 

temporarily has too little bandwidth, 

the audio signal may fade or stop altogether. 

In many cases the connection is 

restored automatically; sometimes the participant 

has to log in again. It is however 

generally expected that the enormous pace 

of technological developments will improve 

‘connectivity’ in countries all over 

the world: the ‘teething problems’ will 

soon be a thing of the past. Although 

e-learning is simple and most of it is self-explanatory, 

it still places a burden on the 

participant in relation to his or her computer 

literacy. Not all members of a company’s 

management have the same agility in 

using the computer and understanding exactly 

how it all works. During one of the 

Expro e-learning sessions, for instance, the 

consultant asked one of the participants to 

find a certain button on the screen. The participant 

answered that his secretary was 

sitting on his lap in order to operate the 

computer – adding new 

meaning to the word laptop 

computing! 

LESS TRAVEL TIME 

The concept of e-learning 

offers various possibilities of cooperation 

between CBI consultants as well. During an 

Expro 47 follow-up session on ‘Preparing 

for Hannover 2004’, the CBI’s programme 

manager, product consultants, general export 

marketing consultant and fair coordinator 

all logged in for an e-learning session 

from their own offices. They answered all 

the participants’ questions regarding the 

fair without leaving their offices and loosing 

time travelling. The special ‘course 

management’ section in the e-learning software 

system for teachers shows them how 

they can quickly set up a session and define 

the participants that are allowed to log on. 

The date and time of the class and other relevant 

information can be communicated 

by email to all participants. After that, it’s 

up and go. See you online! 

CBI consultant Reg Leenes engaging in one of the 

online teaching sessions: no longer just a promising 

concept, it works (photo DijDiDakt web leren/ 

F. van Vliet). 


) 

new suppliers 

from developing 

countries 

( 

The CBI’s company-matching database links exporters from 

developing countries to importers in the EU. 

The most important registration requirement for exporters from 

developing countries is that they are ready to export to the EU. 

The addresses and profiles of registered exporters are made available exclusively to importing companies in the EU that are also 

registered, in the database’s importers’ section. For detailed information on how to apply for this restricted service as an exporter 

or an importer, please visit the company-matching section on our website at www.cbi.nl. The site contains a company profile 

outlining registration requirements. 

Three new exporting companies from developing countries have been registered recently: 

- One exporter of garments and clothing, the company is from India. 

- One exporter of household textiles, the company is from India. 

- One exporter of fresh fruits and vegetables, the company is from Kenya. 

) 

interesting 

manuals 

CBI manual translated into Vietnamese 

( 

The Vietnamese Investment and Trade 

Promotion Centre (ITPC) has translated the 

material presented to a group of 

Vietnamese business support organizations 

during a CBI seminar last October. 

The Vietnamese manual will be used by the 

ITPC to train other parties in the country 

interested in exporting to the European 

Union. The ‘FAME’ seminar was jointly 

organized by the CBI and the ITPC and led 

by CBI consultants Bouwes and Kruft. It focussed 

on practical knowledge and tools 

for export promotion to international 

markets. About thirty-five participants 

attended the seminar. 

The ins and outs of model contracts 

True to its mission of offering practical help 

to developing country exporters, the 

International Trade Centre (ITC) has released 

a new publication on model contracts. 

The reason the ITC decided to publish the 

manual is that while developing country exports 

are growing enormously, necessitating 

international contracts, many individual exporters 

represent small and medium-sized 

enterprises unable to afford their own 

lawyers. “Literally hundreds of thousands of 

these firms have no access to information on 

how to draw up balanced, easily understandable 

international agreements”, says 

the ITC. Model contracts provide exporters 

with a formula that can work throughout 

different countries and answer their most 

frequently asked questions. 

Entitled ‘ITC Contractual Joint Venture 

Model Agreements’, the publication is 

available free of charge in English, Spanish 

and French on the ITC’s website. 

For more information, go to: 

www.jurisint.org 

) 

trade fairs and 

conferences 

EGYPT 

) matchbox ( CBI News Bulletin page 32 

( 

Cairo, December 9 – 12, 2004 

Leather Tech (leather industry technology 

and manufacturing equipment) 

Contact: General Organization for 

International Exhibitions and Fairs 

(GOIEF), Cairo, Egypt 

Phone : + 202 260 78 56-33 

Fax : + 202 260 7845-48-21 

Email : info@cairofair.com; 

reservation@cairofair.com 

Internet : www.cairofair.com/leather 

Cairo, December 16 – 18, 2004 

Info Tech: 1st International Exhibition for 

Information and Telecommunication 

Technology 




Phone : + 202 260 78 56-33 

Fax : + 202 260 7845-48-21 



Internet : www.cairofair.com/infotech 

Cairo, February 5 – 8, 2005 

Food Expo: 1st International Food & 

Beverages Exhibition 


International Exhibitions and Fairs, Cairo 

Egypt 

Phone : + 202 260 78 56-33

Fax : + 202 260 7845-48-21 



Internet : www.cairofair.com/foodtech 

Cairo, March 15 – 15, 2005 

Cairo Fair: 38th International Fair (general 

products and services) 



Egypt 

Phone : + 202 260 78 56-33 

Fax : + 202 260 7845-48-21 



Internet : www.cairofair.com 

Cairo, May 7 – 9, 2005 

Medicare Expo: 1st International Health & 

Medicare Exhibition 

Contact: General Organization for International 

Exhibitions and Fairs, Cairo Egypt 

Phone : + 202 260 78 56-33 

Fax : + 202 260 7845-48-21 



Internet : www.cairofair.com/medicare 

Cairo, May 19 – 23, 2005 

Fashion Expo: 1st International Exhibition 

for Textile, Fashion and Clothes 

Technology 



Egypt 

Phone : + 202 260 78 56-33 

Fax : + 202 260 7845-48-21 



Internet : www.cairofair.com/fashion 

Cairo, October 1 – November 1, 2005 

Décor Art Expo (wood manufacturing 

equipment and workshop supplies) 




Phone : + 202 260 78 56-33 

Fax : + 202 260 7845-48-21 



Internet: www.cairofair.com/decoart 

INDIA 

Mumbai, November 3 – 5, 2004 

IndiaChem 2004: 3rd International 

Exhibition & Conference on Chemicals, 

Petrochemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Technologies, 

Process Plant Machinery, Control & 

Automation Systems 

Contact: Trade Fair Secretariat, Federation 

of Indian Chambers of Commerce & 

Industry (FICCI), New Delhi, India 

Phone : + 91 11 23738760-70 / 

11 309 10 411 

Fax : + 91 11 233 20 714, 237 21 504 

E-mail : ficciexhibition@vsnl.net 

Internet : www.indiachem2004.com 

New Delhi, November 14 – 17, 2004 

IITF 2004: India International Trade Fair 

Contact: Mr. Ashok Jha, India Trade 

Promotion Organization (ITPO), New 

Delhi, India 

Phone : + 91 11 233 711 00 

Fax : + 91 11 233 711 22 

Email : iitf2004@itpo-online.com 

Internet: www.iitfonweb.com 

Bhopal, January 12 – 15, 2004 

2nd World Herbo-Bamboo Expo 2005: 

International Exhibition of Herbs, Herbal 

Products, Traditional Medicine & Vaidhyas 

Contact: Dr. R. Sugandhi, World Herbo 

Expo Team 

Email : sugand_09@satyam.net.in 

Jaipur, January 28 – February 1, 2005 

3rd India Stonemart 2005 (natural stone & 

stone products; natural stone-related machinery 

and tools; services related to the 

natural stone industry and technology) 

Contact: Chief Executive Officer, Centre for 

Development of Stones, Jaipur, India 

Phone : + 91141 222 71 99 / 5102032 

Fax : +91 141 510 48 04 

Email : cdosindia@cdos-india.com 

Internet : www.cdos-india.com; 

www.stonesofindia.org 

New Delhi, February 9 – 12, 2005 

IETF 2005: 16th International Engineering 

& Technology Fair (includes automobile industry, 

appliances, clean tech environment, 

healthcare, Indian infrastructure etc.) 

Contact: Ms. Rekha Sethi, Confederation of 

Indian Industry, Gurgaon, India 

Phone : + 91 124 501 4060 

Fax : + 91 124 501 4080 

Email : rekha.sethi@ciionline.org 

Internet : www.ciionline.org 

MADAGASCAR 

Madagascar, August 24 – 29, 2004 

Salama 2004: International Handicraft 

Trade Show 

Contact: Eva Consulting, Madagascar 

Phone: + 261 32 02 528 71 / 33 12 071 18 

Email : evaconslting@wanadoo.mg; 

uama.artisans@laposte.com 

Internet : www.123madagascar.com/ 

salama 

PAKISTAN 

Peshawar, October 11 – 14, 2004 

11th Pakistan Gems & Minerals Show of the 

All-Pakistan Commercial Exporters 

Association of Rough & Un-Polished 

Precious & Semi-Precious Stones (APCEA) 

Contact: Mr. Bashir Khan, Export 

Promotion Bureau, Peshawar, Pakistan 

Phone : + 92 91 9217 120-5 

Fax : + 92 91 9217 126 

Email : epb@psh.paknet.com.pk 

Karachi, January 7 – 9, 2005 

ISTF Asia 2005: International Spring Trade 

Fair Asia 

Contact: ISTF Asia Secretariat, Karachi, 

Pakistan 

Phone : + 92 21 453 63 21 / 111 222 444 

Fax : + 92 21 453 63 30 

Email : info@springfairasia.com 

Internet : www.springfairasia.com 

Karachi, March 26 – 28, 2005 

ITIF Asia 2005: International Trade & 

Industry Fair 

Contact: ITIF Asia Secretariat, Karachi, 

Pakistan 

Phone : + 92 21 453 63 21 / 111 222 444 

Fax : + 92 21 453 63 30 

Email : info@itifasia.com 

Internet : www.itifasia.com 

TUNISIA 

Tunis, March November 16 – 18, 2005 

World Summit on the Information Society 

Contact: Foreign Investment Promotion 

Agency of Tunisia (FIPA), Brussels, 

Belgium 

Phone : + 32 2 512 93 27 

Fax : + 32 2 511 17 57 

Email : fipal.tunisie@pi.be 

Internet : www.wsistunis2005.tn; 

www.investintunisia.com 

Tunis, March 2005 

World Summit on the Information Society 

Contact: Foreign Investment Promotion 

Agency of Tunisia (FIPA), Brussels, 

Belgium 

Phone : + 32 2 512 93 27 

Fax : + 32 2 511 17 57 

Email : fipal.tunisie@pi.be 

Internet : www.investintunisia.com 


) 

cbi export 

development 

activities 

What When Where Details 

Incoming delegation from the Swedish June 16 CBI offices, the Netherlands Meeting with CBI staff on non-tariff trade barriers 

National Board of Trade related activities 

Technical assistance mission June 19 - July 2 Guatemala, Honduras, CBI consultants Mr. P. van het Hof and Mr. B. de 

Young pot plant materials El Salvador, Costa Rica Jong visit exporters and BSOs participating in 

CBI's EDP for young pot plant material 

Technical assistance mission Cut flowers June 21 - July 2 Uganda Cost registration and benchmarking tool for cut 

flower sector in Uganda 

Technical assistance mission Cut flowers July 3 - 17 Zambia Follow up of the HRM training in February; 

individual assistance on organisational structure 

and communication in companies 

Incoming delegation from Indonesia July 5 CBI offices, the Netherlands Presentation by CBI staff on CBI activities 

Seminar MASTER July 6 - 8 Suriname BSO representatives particpate in a seminar on 

market entry barriers of the EU market 

Technical assistance mission Natural July 10 - 24 Sri Lanka and Philippines CBI consultant Mr. K. Duerbeck visits exporters 

Ingredients and BSOs participating in CBI's EDP for natural 

ingredients 

Workshop General Export Marketing July 12 - 15 Colombia Workshop on general export marketing and 

and Management management for exporters and BSO representatives 

Technical assistance mission Electronic July 13 - 25 South Africa CBI consultant Mr. G. Fandrich visits exporters 

Components and BSOs participating in CBI's EDP for electronic 

components 

Technical assistance mission July 18 - 25 Mali, Bangladesh CBI consultant Mr. T. Kuipers visits exporters and 

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables BSOs participating in CBI's EDP for fresh fruit and 

vegetables 

Workshop Cut flowers July 26 - 29 Egypt Preparing a roadmap for the newly formed export 

cluster of 12 cut flower companies in Egypt 

Technical assistance mission Cut flowers July 26 - August 6 Kenya Follow up of the HRM training in February; 

individual assistance on organisational structure 

and communication in companies 

Technical assistance mission Timber August 1 - 16 Costa Rica, Honduras, CBI consultant Mr. M. Bijl visits exporters and 

and timber products Guatemala BSOs participating in CBI's EDP for timber and 

timber products 

Seminar Commercial Attaché's August Kenya and Uganda Seminar for Commercial Attaches who will be 

based in Western Europe in the (near) future 

Workshop Garments August Sri Lanka Workshop for exporters of garments 

Technical assistance mission August Tunisia CBI consultant Mr. G. Fandrich visits exporters 

Electronic Components and BSOs participating in CBI's EDP for electronic 

components 

Technical assistance mission Organic Food August 8 - 20 Indonesia, Philippines, CBI consultants Mr. J. Pierrot and Mr. Tuinte visit 

India, Pakistan exporters and BSOs participating in CBI's EDP for 

organic food products 

) matchbox ( CBI News Bulletin page 34

( 

What When Where Details 

Technical assistance mission Furniture August 9 - 20 Colombia, Ecuador CBI consultant Mr. T. Kortbeek visits exporters 

and BSOs participating in CBI's EDP for furniture 

Workshop General Export Marketing August 9 - 13 Ethiopia Workshop on general export marketing and 


Workshop General Export Marketing August 16 - 20 Tanzania Workshop on general export marketing and 


TTT India follow up August 25 - 28 India Cased based learning with emphasis on didactive 

skills of the participants from the electronic 

components sector 

Seminar IntFair XIII August 30 - Sept. 8 CBI, The Netherlands BSO representatives participate in a seminar on 

the organization of collective participation in 

European trade fairs 

Seminar Fame XI August 30 - Sept. 10 CBI, The Netherlands BSO representatives participate in a seminar 

focussing on practical knowledge and applicable 

tools in export promotion to the EU market 

Technical assistance mission Furniture August/September Vietnam CBI consultant Mr. J. Jonkers visits exporters and 

BSOs participating in CBI's EDP for furniture 

Mentor Training South African Agri Academy September 4 - 10 South Africa Follow up activity of the SAAA /CBI Train the 

Trainer programme, focused on trainig mentors 

and setting up a mentorship system to coach and 

support South African farmers. 

ITC Executive Forum September 26 - 28 Montreux Ton Lansink, Managing Director, will join the Forum 

ESCRS Medical congress September 18 - 22 Paris, France 3 participants of the EDP Medical devices will be 

exhibiting their products at a congress for 

ophthalmic and cataract surgery 

5th World Conference of TPO's October 1 Malta Ton Lansink, Managing Director will deliver a 

speech at the Conference of TPO's 

cbi export development programmes 

The CBI offers practical export development programmes in specific 

product groups tailored to the needs of producers/exporters 

in developing countries. These programmes help entrepreneurs 

to adapt to the demands of notably the West European markets 

in order to strengthen their competitive position and to create 

conditions for market entry and consolidation. 

MOST PROGRAMMES FOLLOW A MORE OR LESS FIXED 

SCHEDULE, CONSISTING OF THE FOLLOWING PHASES: 

• identification of potential participants 

• technical assistance during company visits and distance 

guidance by CBI consultants in the field of export marketing 

and management, production, meeting international 

regulations and standards, etc. 

• training in export marketing and management and sectorrelated 

matters 

• market entry assistance via sponsored participation in 

European trade fairs and/or through B2B contacts and 

• market consolidation by way of follow-up support, further 

technical assistance and/or repeat market entry activities. 

THIS SCHEDULE IS APPLIED TO THE PROGRAMMES FOR THE FOLLOWING SECTORS: 

• medical devices 

• natural ingredients for pharmaceuticals 

and cosmetics 

•organic food ingredients 

• mobile equipment parts 

• domestic furniture 

• pipe and pipe-related products 

• novel handicrafts 

• stationery items, office and school 

supplies 

• timber and timber products 

• castings and forgings 

•fresh fruit and vegetables 

• chemicals 

• electronic components 

• personal safety equipment 

Please note that, despite the fixed schedule of these programmes, companies from selected 

countries can apply at any time during the programme. Moreover, programmes can 

deviate from the above mentioned schedule, depending on the needs of a specific sector. 

OTHER PROGRAMMES DO NOT FOLLOW A FIXED COURSE. THEY ARE COMPLETELY TAILOR-MADE 

TO THE NEEDS OF SECTORS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES: 

•software and IT services 

•tourism 

• young pot plant material 

• cut flowers 

• clothing 

Application for these programmes can take place at any time during the programme. 

For more information go to www.cbi.nl 


LIST OF CURRENT CBI PUBLICATIONS 

Market surveys 

Animal and vegetable oil and fats 2002 

Bodywear * 2004 

Cars: Parts for cars, trucks, trailers and other 

mobile (engined) equipment 2003 

Castings & forgings 2003 

Chemicals 2003 

Computer software and IT services * 2004 

Cut flowers and foliage 2003 

Domestic furniture 2003 

Engineering products 2003 

Electronic components 2003 

Jewellery 2003 

Fasteners & builders hardware * 2003 

Fishery products 2003 

Fresh fruit and vegetables 2003 

Food ingredients for industrial use 2003 

Footwear 2003 

Gifts and decorative articles 2003 

Hand and power tools * 2004 

Honey and beewax 2002 

Household and furnishing textiles * 2004 

Leather garments 2002 

Leather goods 2003 

Medical devices and medical disposables * 2004 

Natural ingredients for cosmetics 2003 

Natural ingredients for pharmaceuticals 2003 

Natural stone * 2004 

Organic food products 2003 

Outerwear 2003 

Personal protective equipment 2003 

Pipe and pipe-related process equipment 2003 

Plants and young plant material 2003 

Preserved fruit and vegetables * 2004 

Sanitary ware and ceramic tiles 2003 

Spices and herbs 2002 

Sports and camping goods * 2003 

Stationery items, office & school supplies 2003 

Tableware, kitchenware and other household articles * 2003 

Timber and timber products 2003 

Tourism: How to operate the long haul 

tourism market * 2003 

Toys and games 2003 

* Only available on CD rom and via the Internet 

Manuals 

Export planner 2000 

Exporting to the European Union: 

Your guide to trade related information on the 

EU market 2003 

Your Show Master 

a guide for selection, preparation and 

participation in trade fairs 1998 

Your Image Builder 

a guide for establishing and improving 

commercial images 2003 

Your Guide to Market Research 

a guide to find your way in practical and low cost 

methodologies of market research in EU countries 2003 

Others 

Fashion Forecast spring/summer 2005 

Tourism: ‘Matrix 2003, Netherlands and Belgian 

tour operators to exotic destinations’ 2003 

Tourism; ‘Sustainable tourism’ 1997 

The above publications can be obtained – exclusively by exporters 

and business support organisations in developing 

countries – through a written request to CBI, or by downloading 

from the CBI website at www.cbi.nl 

BSOs situated in any of the CBI’s 32 target countries may 

also be included on the mailing list for CBI publications. Once 

you’re registered you will automatically receive updates of 

publications – free of charge. If you’re interested, please 

download the CBI organization profile from our website 

(http://www.cbi.nl/downloads/cbibsoprofile.doc) and send 

the form to the CBI. We can then determine whether your 

BSO can be included on the mailing list. 

CBI market information tools 

Although the content of its market information tools has been compiled with the greatest care, the Centre for the Promotion of Imports 

from developing countries (CBI) cannot guarantee that the information provided is accurate and/or exhaustive, and it cannot be held 

liable for claims pertaining to the use of this information. 

The information provided is aimed at assisting the CBI target group, i.e. exporters and business support organisations (BSOs) in 

developing countries. It may, therefore, not be used for re-sale, the provision of consultancy services, redistribution or the building of 

databases, on a commercial basis. For utilization of the CBI market information tools by the CBI target group on a non-commercial 

basis, the condition applies that CBI is referred to as the source of the information. All other use is prohibited, unless explicitly 

approved in writing by CBI. 

Mailing list 

The CBI News Bulletin is sent free of charge to importers and organizations in the Netherlands, embassies of developing countries and 

to business support organisations in developing countries. Individual exporters in developing countries cannot be included in the 

mailing list, but they can download the CBI News Bulletin from the CBI website at www.cbi.nl 

Correct address 

When notifying the CBI of a new or changed address, in order to receive your copy of the CBI News Bulletin, please return the original 

label with the out-of date address as well. 

centre for the promotion of imports from developing countries

CBI-News Juli/Aug 298

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