The Regional Director for Support to the Investment and Competitiveness stressed in Lisbon the success achieved by the Azores Shop in Lisbon, considering it a reference structure in the promotion and marketing of Azorean products.
 
“The Azores have exceptional conditions for the production of high quality and environmentally friendly goods. We even have several products recognised under Community law, such as meat, cheese, tea, passion fruit, pineapple and honey. Moreover, we already have a wider range of export-oriented products, such as the case of meat, dairy products, fish preserves, beverages and, more recently, the flower sector, among many others,” stated Ricardo Medeiros.
 
For the Regional Director, the Azores Shop is “a key element in this process of dissemination, promotion and marketing of Azorean products abroad.”
 
Ricardo Medeiros spoke at the 4th anniversary of the Azores Shop in Lisbon, an Azores-Brand certified establishment exclusively dedicated to the marketing of Azorean products, which is currently operated by Fábrica de Licores Eduardo Ferreira & Filhos, Lda. following a public tender. The Azores Shop is now marking its fourth anniversary under private management.
 
In his speech, the government official emphasised the fact that this project falls within the Regional Government's comprehensive strategy for the expansion of exports and the increased competitiveness of Azorean companies. He also pointed out the link between exports and the development of the Azores Brand as far as the products bearing this label have registered remarkable growth in terms of sales.
 
Currently, 192 Azorean companies have joined the Azores Brand and 3.272 products are duly recognised, which demonstrates the importance and dynamics generated in the regional manufacturing sector by this measure.
 
The Regional Director also highlighted a number of other support mechanisms aimed not only at promoting regional products, but also at expanding exports and promoting an import reduction policy. In this regard, he mentioned the Competir+ Incentive System in its Internationalisation aspect, the participation of Azorean companies and regional products in an annual business training plan, through participation in fairs, exhibitions and business missions, and the Programme to Support Restaurants and Hotels in the Purchase of Regional Products.
 
In addition to reinforcing the presence of Azorean products in the markets where they already operate, these initiatives also offer easier access to new markets.
 
Ricardo Medeiros pointed out the example of the Market Access measure, provided for in the Competir + incentive programme, mentioning that the support has been channelled to the presence of Azorean companies and products in foreign markets as well as to the development of intraregional trade. According to him, the Government has granted financial support amounting to 10 million Euros over the last four years, involving 137 companies.
 
The Regional Director has ensured that the Regional Government will continue providing a series of tools that will foster the competitiveness of regional companies with the cooperation of partners throughout this process, in particular of regional companies, in the search for the best solutions for the Region’s economic and social development.