The European AGROSMARTglobal project will facilitate the internationalization of cooperative products from Spain, France and Portugal to the markets of China and the United States through digital strategies.

 The project includes, among other results, the establishment of trade relations with China and the United States and the development of digital marketing strategies, training programs and internationalization pilot projects.

The Galician Agrifood Cooperatives Association (AGACA) organized this morning the presentation of AGROSMARTglobal..

AGROSMARTglobal is a European project co-financed by the InterregSudoe Program 2014-2020 within the priority axis of promoting the competitiveness and internationalization of SMEs in Southwest Europe. It has a total budget of € 1,598,000.00 and is co-financed, 75% by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

It aims to improve digital internationalization in cooperatives , strengthening business alliances with China and the United States of America, promoting inter-cooperation between participating entities.

The ten regions of the European SUDOE area covered by the project are: in Spain: Galicia, Castilla-La Mancha, the Basque Country and La Rioja; in France: New Aquitaine and in Portugal: North, Algarve, Center, Lisbon and Alentejo.

The main activities of AGROSMARTglobal, which ends in September 2022, will be developed around three aspects. On one hand, the Project will promote the potential for differentiation in products of agri-food cooperatives and it will try to define measures to protect and promote Protected Geographical Indications (PGI) and Denominations of Origin (PDO) in digital markets.

On the other hand, regarding internationalization, the Project will work on digital marketing strategies for the positioning of products in B2B e-commerce platforms, it will create an online platform in order to provide ICT tools and consulting services and itl will develop trade missions to China and the USA.

Finally, the Project will provide a multidisciplinary training program and it will foster an intercooperation network between the SUDOE cooperatives and companies from the destination markets.

José Montes, president of AGACA highlighted the social impact of the project: “We are facing the greatest change ever seen in sales in local and international markets, new technologies democratize access to quality food and cooperatives must be there to bring that value closer to our towns and rural areas and make sure that the value does not stop in intermediaries. “

The Counselor of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Industry from the Galician Gobernment, Franciso Conde, stated: “We have to compete in a more global world and this project highlights the importance of collaborating. From the government of Galicia I have to congratulate and show recognition of how cooperatives want to lead this process of digital internationalization. Creating pacts to share and add value together is the vocation with which we are here and with which we want to work for the next 36 months. “