Alberta Agriculture and Forestry (AF), in collaboration with the Consulate General of Canada in Guadalajara, coordinated a program for a delegation of 13 buyers from Mexico and Colombia. This was the largest Mexico/Colombia delegation of food ingredients and animal feed buyers that have visited Alberta in recent years.
“This incoming mission was a follow-up to a trade development mission to Mexico that AF organized in January 2015,” says Paola Zaragoza, Manager, Americas and Europe, AF, Edmonton. “Buyers in the food processing sector were here to source grains, pulses and oilseeds, while animal feed buyers were looking to source ingredients such as grains, canola meal, alfalfa and forage products.”
The delegation was comprised of food processors, animal feed processors, distributors, importers and wholesalers, including the President of the Mexican Association of Feed Manufacturers for Animal Consumption.
The first day of the program included an industry seminar featuring presentations by the Alberta Canola Producers Commission, Alberta Barley, Alberta Pulse Growers, Alberta Wheat Commission and Alberta Forage Industry Network. The buyers had the opportunity to learn first-hand from Alberta producer groups about crops conditions in Alberta as well as the benefits and uses of the various crops for food and animal feed.
In order to address the buyers’ specific interests, the group was divided in two streams – food and animal feed - to attend a special session focused on technical applications, delivered by AF experts. Following the session, a one-on-one meeting program was organized for the buyers to meet with over a dozen Alberta export-ready suppliers of grains, pulses, oilseeds and animal feed ingredients.
On the second day, the delegation visited Agri-Food Discovery Place and the Food Processing Development Centre, as well as two grain handling facilities.
“The objectives of the mission were to support Alberta exporters’ efforts to establish, maintain and expand their market presence in Mexico and Colombia,” says Zaragoza. “Companies identified new business opportunities developed sales and business relationships with Mexican and Colombian buyers. Seven companies from the group reported $1.5 million in expected sales within the next year.”
Source : Agriculture and Forestry