The Vice-President of the Government conveyed today his satisfaction with the success achieved with the presence of 27 Azorean companies at SISAB 2013 - International Food and Drinks Sector Fair that ended on Wednesday in Lisbon.

Sérgio Ávila welcomed the fact that the "strong presence" of the Azores created the "conditions for the establishment of international partnership, allowing the expansion of our export capacity in regional products with competitive capacity, such as the case of the agri-food sector."

The Government supported the participation of the Azores at SISAB "following the strategy designed to reinforce the competitiveness of companies and, consequently, the strengthening of their export capacity," the Vice-president reminded, adding that "this strategy is one of the key goals of the Azorean Agenda for Employment Creation and Business Competitiveness."

The International Food and Drinks Sector Fair took place from February 25-27. This event gathered about 1,300 businesspeople from more than 100 countries apart from Portuguese companies, including 27 Azorean companies.

The fair is exclusively targeted at professionals, which provides an opportunity to establish business contacts, conduct business and promote products.

However, this event only allows Portuguese products; the vast majority of the professional who have registered at SISAB as exhibitors or visitants are buyers/distributors of Portuguese products in many countries, whose number has been increasing every year.

Azorean companies participating this year came from several islands and represented various activity sectors: dairy, meat, canned fish, cold meats, pineapple, jams, honey, confectionery and beverages such wine, liqueurs, spirits, beer and soft drinks.

Sérgio Ávila also revealed that the Government will soon organise other relevant initiatives for the export sector, such as the development of a plan of fairs and exhibition abroad, promotion of exports through Green Way or the Export Office, the establishment of the "Azores Brand" and the creation of a Line of Credit for Exports.