It is no secret that Saskatchewan’s agri-food industry has plenty to offer, and the Saskatchewan government wants to share this message with the rest of the world. The industry will be in the spotlight next week, as Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison heads to Southeast Asia on a trade mission.
Harrison will leave on Friday for the six-day trip that will run from March 10-15. He will visit Singapore and the Philippines.
During this trip Harrison is expected to meet with a number of food processing and agriculture companies in both countries and encourage them to purchase additional agricultural products from Saskatchewan suppliers, while strengthening existing trade ties.
“Saskatchewan has what the world, and particularly Southeast Asia, needs, ‘food, fuel and fertilizer,’” Harrison said in a press release. “Saskatchewan is a world leading producer of sustainable food, fuel and fertilizer, which gives us the unique ability to work with Southeast Asia to enhance its food and energy security.”
The trip will allow Harrison to promote new trade opportunities that are available under the newly signed Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTTP). As such, he will highlight the province’s role in agricultural biotechnology and encourage companies based in these two nations to consider investing in Saskatchewan.
Because of immigration, the province already has strong ties with the Philippines. In the press release, Harrison states that 31,000 newcomers have come to Saskatchewan from the Philippines in the last decade. This, he says, creates a tremendous opportunity for increasing trade.
“Historically, significant trade opportunities have followed such substantial population shifts,” said Harrison.
Saskatchewan exported $7.9 billion worth of goods and services to Asia in 2017, including $1.2 billion to Singapore, the Philippines and the other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
