Agriculture Minister David Marit is set to travel to the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, and India on Feb. 6-14 to make connections with trade partners.
Marit will be attending the Pulses Conclave and will attempt to strengthen trade, research, and investment ties with some of the province’s long-standing partners in the Middle East and Southern Asia.
“The United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh are both priority markets and represent over $500 million in combined agri-food exports in 2018. While we have encountered some recent trade barriers in India, it is traditionally a major export destination for our pulses,” said David Marit, in a press release.
Saskatchewan was the major supplier of canola seed in the United Arab Emirates in 2018, as well as Bangladesh.
With agri-food exports to India totaling over $855 million in the last five years, continued relationships with these leading consumers is a top priority for the Saskatchewan agriculture industry.
Both markets are leading consumers of plant-based proteins, and Saskatchewan currently exports 43 per cent of the world’s lentils, 32 per cent of the world’s dry peas, and 24 per cent of the world’s canola seed.
Marit will be giving a keynote speech about the province’s pulse production and trade opportunities between Canada and India.
The delegation travelling with him will include members from the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership and the Global Institute for Food Security at the University of Saskatchewan to show the research ties between Canada and Bangladesh.
