In order to strengthen quality and increase compliance with international standards to increase its export supply, 470 companies in the chemical industry, as well as 126 laboratories and entities such as the Colombian Institute of Technical Standards and Certification (ICONTEC), the National Institute of Metrology (INM) And the National Accreditation Agency of Colombia (ONAC) will become part of the global quality and standards plan, and the agreement will come into effect in Bogotá on May 22, 2019.
The chemical project will be implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) will provide 1.9 million euros in donations, and the Colombian Ministry of Trade will provide 460,000 euros in financial resources. Colombia’s Productiva’s industry and tourism will support approximately 11% of the country’s chemical companies (5214 micro and small and medium enterprises), which contributed 15.5% to the country’s overall manufacturing value added in 2018. In total, chemical activities created 205,620 jobs, accounting for 7.6% of the national manufacturing employment.
The chemical industry is important because of its high added value per employee (US$218 million in 2017) and its impact on other industries. This is an important supplier to other industries such as auto parts, textiles, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and agro-industry, and will indirectly improve the quality level. The initiative will include interventions to strengthen conformity assessment laboratories and institutions so that their services can meet the needs of the company.
Colombian Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism José Manuel Restrepo said: “Colombia has a special production capacity in the chemical industry, which provides more complex products than the average level of our export basket, and also accounts for our non-mining energy. 22.5% of exports.” “Meeting the needs of the chemical industry in the national quality subsystem will enable us to take advantage of our advantages and gain new market opportunities for our national producers.”
Camilo Fernández de Soto, President of Productiva Colombia, said: “More than 400 companies and more than 100 laboratories in the chemical value chain will benefit from skills and training.” “Another 70 companies and 26 laboratories will receive long-term assistance. Implement quality standards to open up new markets for products such as basic chemicals, plastics and cosmetics.”
Johannes Dobinger, the representative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization for Colombia and the Andean region, added: “The project will aim to narrow the technological gap in high-quality infrastructure and strategic sectors in our partner countries.” “Take Colombia as an example, we will The chemical industry is particularly supported to enable it to export more products because, in addition to its outstanding figures in terms of employment, production and added value, it also poses important challenges to the OECD’s agenda and the country’s development policy.”
Christian Brändli, head of the SECO Economic Cooperation and Development Program at the Swiss Embassy in Colombia, said: “The global quality and standards program will meet the important needs of the industry.” “It must use existing trade agreements to support exporting SMEs through internal Cooperation to improve competitiveness and diversify the export basket through higher value-added products.”
Another key focus will be to improve citizens’ consumption habits, which will be more effective if supplemented by strategies that support cleaner, more sustainable, and higher-quality production in high-impact industries such as chemicals. As part of the plan’s launch strategy, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism and the Colombian Productivity Organization and UNIDO will meet in Bogotá (June 11, 2019), Medellin (June 12, 2019), and Calgary in June. A series of regional seminars are held in cities such as Lie (June 13, 2019) and Barranquilla (June 14, 2019).
