The Port of Barcelona chooses Thailand to reactivate business missions

It has been three years since the Port of Barcelona has been unable to undertake its traditional business missions, organized with the aim of establishing new contacts and attracting investments. They have been carried out every year since the late 90s and, before the arrival of COVID, there was only a halt in 2006 and 2007, followed by a double mission in 2008. The crisis caused by the coronavirus forced the postponement of these in-person trips, replaced by online missions to Colombia and Korea.

After the pandemic, Thailand has been the country chosen to resume in-person missions, responding to the Port's commitment to boost Southeast Asia. Its economic dynamism and geostrategic position, which allows access to other markets in the region, have been taken into account. "It responds to the existing potential to establish commercial alliances and partnerships with its ports," explained the president, Damià Calvet, at the official presentation of the mission, kicking off registrations for companies and entities that wish to participate. "We will generate business opportunities, contribute to internationalizing the country's companies and promote the logistics community, the Port and Barcelona," he stressed.

Thailand is one of the ten most attractive emerging countries for foreign investment and one of the world's economies most dependent on exports, which account for 66% of GDP, Calvet continued. With a large market, the automotive sector, renewable energies and transport are its main economic pillars.

Preparing for the mission, the Port has already identified the sectors with the most export capacity or that may need more imports. Calvet pointed out that they will focus on strengthening alliances with companies in sectors such as food, agribusiness, medical equipment, automotive, tourism and services, energy or transport infrastructure.

Traffic between the Port of Barcelona and Thailand stood at 256,000 tons last year, a figure that had increased by 9.3% compared to 2019, and at 22,558 TEU, a 16% increase. Currently, the bulk of exchanges focuses on chemical products and machinery.

Barcelona is the main Spanish port in traffic with the Southeast Asian country and, furthermore, it is not a transit port. In this sense, Catalonia is the main autonomous community in port trade with Thailand, both in tons and in value of goods, with 500 million euros. "The numbers show that we were right. We are going to a country that we have to consolidate and where we have to open new traffics," Calvet remarked.

Barcelona is the main Spanish port in traffic with the Southeast Asian country and, furthermore, it is not a transit port

Within the framework of the presentation of the business mission in Thailand, the signing of the contract for the new representative of the Port of Barcelona for the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Luz Pérez, from the company Flow Consulting 2018, has been formalized. With this incorporation, the Port will boost the actions to be developed in this region.