Placing attractive, competitive products and services on the international scene, ensuring that goods made in Cuba continue to consolidate their current markets and attract others, is a basic premise for our economy, in order to increase and diversify exports, as one of the country’s principal sources of income.
In this context, the Export Map - a platform developed by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment (Mincex) with the collaboration of academic specialists and other entities - focuses on the comprehensive promotion of the nation's exportable product lines.
According to Lietsa Peña Pacheco, director of Exports of Goods and Services at the Ministry, told Granma, the new platform is a dynamic, interactive tool that allows Cuban producers to display their wares and present information in real time.
The Map, which has been available on the Internet since last October, is freely accessible at the url http://mapaexportaciones.mincex.gob.cu, and any user may visit the site to see the information displayed with no need for a password or prior registration, she said.
Nonetheless, she pointed out, the tool is just taking its first steps and is undergoing a process of improvement and updating, since data, graphics and other content continue to be added to contribute to users' experience and improve the effectiveness of searches.
She commented, "We will have a better map, a more complete one, as each territory places its information and takes advantage of the opportunities and promotion provided by the platform."
And the fact is that, for its objective to be met, the Map needs the support of the specialists in Foreign Trade departments in all provinces and the Isle of Youth special municipality, since they are the only parties authorized to add, edit or delete information from their territories, she explained.
In the end, she stressed, this will benefit the territory itself, since it will not only make its exportable items known to the world, but will also allow comparing the situation in any given area and with that of others.
Currently, there are 669 entities producing exportable goods and/or services present on the Map and, of these, 23 are forms of non-state management - cooperatives, the self-employed or small businesses - reported Odet Arias Montero, Mincex specialist in commercial policy.
She pointed out that there is much data still to be incorporated. Such is the case, she added, of micro, small and medium-sized companies currently being established. The good thing, she said, is that they have the option.
Today, she continued, entities that export, both state enterprises and any other economic actor, including productive poles, can add their information and data to the system, based on the collaboration they have established with companies authorized to conduct foreign trade activities.
The Map is projected to include all available, useful information on exportable items, including their specifications, origin, exporters, producers, local projects related to the product or service, ports of departure from the country, transportation routes, warehouses, destination, etc, she reiterated.
HOW IT WORKS
This computer system allows users to access a database with export indicators, reported Dariel Trujillo, one of the developers and specialists in charge of the project.
"We are saying, for example, that when accessing the platform, the user may choose what he or she wants to see in a geo-referential manner, either by provinces, municipality or entity linked to exports, such as a state enterprise or a cooperative," he explained.
Likewise, once the option is selected, displayed is contact information for persons in charge of foreign trade in the different provinces, the volume of goods available in the territory and the status of the exportable product or service of interest (being promoted, under development or available), he added.
This data can be used to generate quantitative and qualitative reports, as well as demographic reports and market analysis, he noted.
“By geo-referencing a production company, we can see the surrounding area, its urban and socioeconomic characteristics, whether it is a school, a hospital, a factory, etc. and, on that basis, focus initiatives and projects for local development."
Another advantage of the Map, he said, is that it identifies Cuba’s exportable items for foreign clients, based on the characteristics of those markets; while, it promotes competitiveness and seeks to diversify the range of Cuban products and services that can be inserted in the international market.
The Mincex specialist, Odet Arias, also emphasized that the project supports local development, and among its functions is to provide the provinces and municipalities with a comprehensive view of their productive and export potential, as well as information on the work force. "This will be possible thanks to demographic data from each locality, which will be included in the Map."
NECESSARY ALLIANCES
The development of this tool was also made possible thanks to the ties that have been developed with academia and other entities.
For example, during a governmental visit, led Party First Secretary and President of the Republic Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, to the province of Guantánamo, a proposal was made to Mincex to strengthen its relations with the University there, where work had already begun on geo-referencing systems. Specialists involved were able to immediately see how information on local development could add value to the Map, recalled Peña Pacheco.
"This new proposal was ambitious because of the complexity of developing the software and required new technical capabilities that Mincex did not have, so alliances were established in search of solutions to the problematic lack of human resources and technical abilities," she explained.
From there, she said, working agreements were signed with the universities of Havana and Guantánamo, in addition to the experience gained by the Center for the Promotion of Foreign Trade and Investment of Cuba (Procuba) in promotional activities.
At this time, she said, we are working on a user's manual to make the interactive features of the system, and all its options, more accessible to those who visit the site. Likewise, provincial governments are working on approaching producers to show them the opportunities that open up by including their exportable products and services on the platform.
Addressing this issue, Ivón Garzón, the Ministry’s deputy director for Exports, commented that this database will also serve as a useful tool for decision makers at all levels of the country, since with this knowledge, they can identify potential markets.
The Minrex Export Map constitutes will serve as an essential tool in the daily work of both exporting companies and foreign clients, who will be able to access technical data on exportable products.
Among the plans to continue improving the system is the incorporation of the Port-Transport-Internal Economy Operation chain, which, among other advantages, will facilitate accurate estimations of the distance between an exit point - airports, railroad stations, seaports - and the site of production. With this data, appropriate logistical decisions can be made.
