The Vice-Presidency of the Government of the Azores promoted on Thursday afternoon various meetings with representatives of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry and businesspeople from several islands for the dissemination of the Programme to Support Restaurants and Hotels in the Purchase of Regional Products (PARHAPR).

The meetings were conducted by members of the Society for the Business Development of the Azores (SDEA), who carefully explained the various aspects of this programme, particularly with regard to the products covered by this initiative, the access to the support measures and the goals the Regional Government intends to accomplish.

In this regard, the Vice-President of the Government stressed the importance that the program "not only supports the hotel and restaurant sector, but also the promotion of regional production."

For Sérgio Ávila, PARHAPR "allows companies to purchase Azorean products at cheaper prices and reinforce their competitiveness, "which will stimulate the "production and consumption of local products," thus bringing "added value to the economy of each island and to the Region as a whole."

The Programme to Support Restaurants and Hotels in the Purchase of Regional Products provides the allocation of support to restaurants and hotels for the acquisition of regional products up to an annual maximum of 5,000 Euros per establishment and 15,000 Euros per company.

The amount of financial support, awarded in the form of a non-repayable subsidy, corresponds to 10 percent of the amount for the purchase of regional products. This programme increases the reimbursement rate to 14 percent for certified products: "Protected Geographical Indication - PGI," "Protected Designation of Origin - PDO," "Controlled Designation of Origin - CDO" or "Azores Handicrafts."

All private companies and cooperatives in the hotel and restaurant sectors or providing similar services may apply for this programme.