Quebec City, Quebec – The Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec are proud to announce the joint Soutien aux exportations bioalimentaires (SEB) program. Mr. Jean-Claude Poissant, Parliamentary Secretary to the Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Mr. Lawrence MacAulay, and Mr. André Lamontagne, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, highlighted that the program has an annual envelope of $2 million over three years, from 2018 to 2021. The new program, which will be administered by the Agri-Food Export Group Québec‑Canada, will provide support for agri‑food businesses in implementing their international business plan. These investments are made under the Canada-Quebec Agreement on the implementation of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
Ever-increasing international competition and new, highly competitive products from exporting countries force Quebec businesses to be creative, adapt and adopt marketing strategies to remain competitive. These efforts require significant resources. The SEB, which replaces the Exportateurs de classe mondiale program, is intended to support businesses through these challenges and introduces some new features:
- Increase in the financial assistance rate from 40% to 50% of eligible expenses.
- Increase in maximum financial assistance from $50,000 to $100,000 per year, per applicant.
- Financial support to accelerate the deployment of the Quebec biofood offer on online sales platforms.
- Support for the hiring of specialists in developing markets outside Quebec.
- Support for Quebec biofood trademarks abroad.
- Support for exporters seeking to establish a permanent trade presence outside Quebec.
The 2018-2025 Biofood Policy - Feeding Our World aims to increase Quebec’s international biofood exports from $6 billion to $14 billion by 2025. The SEB will contribute to achieving this target.
Source : Government of Canada