Trade fair in Cuba
This year DEGUMA participated in the Feria Internacional de La Habana (FIHAV) for the first time. CEO Winfried Schütz and his daughter Viktoria Schütz, authorized officer of DEGUMA, travelled to Cuba to present the company to the Cuban trade visitors. The FIHAV is an universal trade fair for different industries for consumer and industrial goods. It is also a meeting place for companies from Central America and the Caribbean. This year about 900 companies and institutions from more than 70 countries took part in the FIHAV, 67 of them from Germany.
It is almost not possible to search the Cuban market through the internet, like it is common today. “You have to visit Cuba, to meet the right people and build relationships.“ says Viktoria Schütz, who was responsible for the Spanish communication. Through the changes of the diplomatic relation between Cuba and the USA, the Cuban market has become more interesting. “The entry thresholds are still high, but you can notice that the Cubans see a new perspective for their development and hope for a wider opening.“ says Winfried Schütz. You can meet the people who are responsible for the companies, but the negotiations and contracts are executed by the Cuban foreign trade ministry. So Cuban companies can name their requirements, but the employees of the ministry decide what to buy. “It will take a long time, until we make a deal in Cuba. At first we need an official supplier number.“ Viktoria Schütz explains. “Nevertheless, Cuba is an interesting market, as it is in need of major modernization.”
For German companies it is important to establish in Cuba, before the USA lift their embargo and emphasize on the economic cooperation. For DEGUMA the trade fair was worth visiting, “We met the people who are important for our business and visited Cuban production sites. We see promising perspectives for a cooperation.“ says Winfried Schütz.