The activity is organized jointly with the main associations and trade unions, and aims to support and strengthen Chile's international positioning, especially in Latin American countries.
The Director General of ProChile, Ignacio Fernández, together with the Undersecretary of International Economic Relations, Claudia Sanhueza; the Undersecretary of Economy, Javiera Petersen and representatives of various unions and associations of the industrial sector such as the Association of Metallurgical and Metalworking Industries, ASIMET; the Association of Exporters of Manufactures and Services, ASEXMA; the National Chamber of Laboratories, CANALAB; the Industrial Association of Pharmaceutical Laboratories, ASILFA; the National Center for Health Information Systems, CENS; the Association of Suppliers of the Health Industry, APIS; the Center for Packaging and Packaging of Chile, CENEM; the National Association of the Recycling Industry, ANIR; the Trade Association of Plastics Industrialists, ASIPLA; the Chilean Wood Corporation, CORMA and the Association of the Electrical and Electronic Industry, AIE; inaugurated Industry Week 2024, an action that seeks to strengthen the positioning of Chilean 4.0 industries in the world.
The event, organized by ProChile in conjunction with the private sector, will take place between Tuesday, July 23 and Thursday, July 25 and will bring together 40 importers from 10 countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Trinidad and Tobago) with more than 180 Chilean exporting companies from sectors such as Health, Packaging, Forestry, Metalworking and Electro-electronics and Non-war Defense. Also noteworthy is the presence of ProChile commercial representatives in Guatemala, Ecuador, the Netherlands, China, Italy and Panama; who will be available so that Chilean companies can learn about tax and regulatory aspects and opportunities in their respective markets for internationalization.
In addition to a major business roundtable to be held in both Santiago and Concepción - the latter dedicated exclusively to the forestry sector - and which projects around 500 meetings in total, the Industry Week includes other actions such as talks, networking activities and technical visits both in the Metropolitan Region and in Valparaíso, Ñuble and Bio Bío.
ProChile's general manager, Ignacio Fernández, commented that "the main objective we seek with this promotional and business event is to contribute to the positioning of Chile as a supplier of various intelligent and sustainable manufactures for the future. What we want is not only to connect different international buyers with our offer - with a strong emphasis on Latin American markets - but also to show them the details of the different production processes and the high manufacturing standards with which we work in Chile."
In turn, the Undersecretary of International Economic Relations, Claudia Sanhueza, highlighted the importance of the industrial sector in Chilean exports. “In 1960, our exports totaled US$1.49 billion, of which 87.1% corresponded to mining shipments, composed of copper, saltpeter and iron. Our country had a mono-export profile, and industry represented only 81.1% of our shipments to the world. However, today, the national industry generates exports for more than US$1.43 billion, representing 37.1% of the country's sales abroad. This growth is the result of the efforts of our entrepreneurs throughout the country, who have developed highly technologically complex goods, and the internationalization effort through the promotion of ProChile.”
Meanwhile, the Undersecretary of Economy, Javiera Petersen, highlighted the importance of this type of public-private collaboration meetings, emphasizing the importance of the manufacturing sector for the country's economic development. "From the Government we seek that economic growth is driven by sustainable productive development in economic, social and environmental terms. This requires a strengthened manufacturing sector, which is developed from innovation and technological development, which is capable of adding value and moving towards a more sophisticated industry connected to global technological trends," said the authority.
In 2023, exports from this sector exceeded US$19,854 million. The main destination markets were China, the United States, Brazil and Peru.
ProChile has prioritized the health, packaging, forestry, metalworking and electro-electronics, and non-war defense sectors for international promotion, achieving export amounts that in 2023 exceeded US$$ 7.5 billion, with the main destinations being Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Paraguay.
Check the photo album on Flickr.
