6 - 12 January 2000

Metco conference on export marketing

by Franco Aloisio

A one-day conference on export marketing will be organised by the Malta External Trade Corporation at the Westin Dragonara on 27 January 2000. The conference will be dealing with the theme "Export 2000 - The Challenge - Practical Issues for Practical People".

Various prominent speakers, both local and foreign, will be addressing the conference.

These include Irish MP Alan Dukes, who served as Opposition Leader between 1987 and 1990 when Ireland was negotiating its EU membership; international business researcher Prof. Michael Czinkota; the director general of the Israel Export Institute, Amir Hayek; and management consultant Chris Noonan.

Among the local speakers are BOV operations general manager Frank Xerri de Caro; Federation of Industry President Joe Caruana Curran; the President of the Gozo Business Chamber of Commerce, John Magro; and Michael Bonello of ESDL Ltd.

Metco chairman Anthony Diacono said in an interview with The Malta Business Weekly that the conference will focus on making small Maltese businesses aware of the enormous possibilities which the global village offers. Increasing awareness about the potential of exporting, even for small companies is vital, he said.

"SMEs constitute the vast majority of businesses in Malta, as in other European countries," said Mr Diacono.

"Despite their size, SMEs can still find foreign markets in which they can export their products. Generally, small businesses find niche markets where to sell their products. This is the Export 2000 Challenge. No matter how large or how small a business is, whether you are ready or not, the world of today cannot be changed. Any business is a participant in today's global business," said Mr Diacono. Global marketing is an issue for all companies even for those who are not envisaging to sell abroad, now or in the future.

Mr Diacono added: "The world is a market place, difficult and dangerous, but a market place nevertheless, and what happens in it reverberates to all the countries around the world. A safe and easy market does not exist any more.

"The fundamentals of doing business domestically change so radically that any firm must find new and more exportable markets to survive. This will be the underlying theme of the conference."

Another reason for the increasing internationalisation of business is that cross-border trade is today much easier to organise than in the past.

Mr Diacono said one of the main challenges facing local companies is that of restructuring. To comp- ete globally, a restructuring programme has to be in place. Together with IPSE, local firms can establish such programmes and seek assistance.

"But the key to success lies in the initiative and will-power of the company. No one owes any company a living," said Mr Diacono.

On the spread of market information available today, Metco general manager Stephen Sultana said that today it is much simpler to visit and examine foreign markets, to select the best locations for operations and thereafter to control international activities.

He said that market information is easier to locate and retrieve and the information is easily available on the internet. This has brought competitors and markets closer to one another.

Metco has over the past years contributed significantly to the dissemination of information on the potential of export, and information on markets which can be tapped by local firms is already available on the net on http://metco.com.mt

"The next stage is to develop e-commerce solutions to local businesses. Metco is already working on this project," said Mr Sultana.

The coordinator of the Metco conference is Mark Pizzuto. He said that around 200 participants are expected to attend the conference. The conference is supported by Bank of Valletta.