On April 3 of this year, the long-awaited reopening of the borders between Venezuela, Curaçao, and Bonaire took place after 4 years and 2 months without air and maritime operations. Similarly, on May 1st, the border with the island of Aruba was reopened, but only for maritime transportation. The authorities have stated that air connectivity is in the process of being restored.
Venezuela is the country in the Americas closest to the ABC islands, and historically, it has been a significant supplier of food and other products for 388 years. According to figures from the Curaçao Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the average trade exchange in the last 5 years before the border closure (2014-2018) was approximately USD 40 million, out of the island's average annual imports of USD 1.2 billion. In other words, Venezuela had a market share of 3.6%. The market is led by the United States with an average of 38.68%, followed by the Netherlands with 22%, Puerto Rico with 5%, Panama with 3.38%, and the rest of the world with 27.48%. During the border closure, imports from Venezuela in 2019 accounted for 3.20%, in 2020 it was 1.3%, and in 2021 it was 0.60%. Data for the year 2022 has not been published yet. It is presumed that these imports were triangulated through a third country.
Regarding Aruba, the average of total imports in the four years before the closure (2014-2017) was USD 1.1 billion per year, according to data from the island's Statistical Office. The average imports from Venezuela amounted to USD 15 million per year, representing only 1.4% of the total imported by the island. From 2018 to 2022, Venezuela does not appear in the list of the top 15 importers of Aruba.
The reopening of the border between Venezuela and the ABC islands marks the beginning of a new stage in our relationship with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It presents a great opportunity for us to reconquer the market in the neighboring islands. However, it is also convenient to establish a strategic alliance that allows us to access the European market through the competitive advantages offered by the Economic Special Zone of Curaçao and Aruba, particularly in terms of the transformation of raw materials and/or by-products. It can also serve as a platform for Caribbean products to reach the South American market.
The geographical position of Venezuela in South America and the Caribbean, together with the position of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the southeastern Caribbean and in Europe, gives us the advantage of developing international trade. The effects of the coronavirus on international trade have led countries to reconsider how they do business, shifting from offshoring to nearshoring. This demonstrates the need to strengthen our trade relations with neighboring countries in the face of the conflicts that arise in the world today.
According to the presentation, Holland House is a binational Chamber of Commerce that connects companies and organizations from one country with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its objective is to leverage internationalization and promote business growth. This organization exists in different countries in Latin America, such as Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Panama, Costa Rica, among others. Paradoxically, it doesn't exist in Venezuela, despite being the country in the Americas closest to the Kingdom of the Netherlands (only about 50 nautical miles from the Port of La Vela de Coro). For this reason, in this new stage of commercial relations, the Chamber of Commerce and Tourism of La Vela de Coro has publicly and privately proposed to the Embassy of the Kingdom, the Chambers of Aruba, Curaçao, and Fedecamaras Venezuela, to give the necessary impetus for the creation of this organization in our country. This would contribute to the strengthening of commercial and tourism relations through the security and trust that Holland House can provide in this new relationship.
Juan Gotopo
Vice-President, Chamber of Commerce and Tourism of La Vela de Coro
