Canadian soybean farmers and exporters have just completed a very successful trade mission to parts of Asia to promote Canadian soybeans thanks in large part to the investment made by our federal government to support the development of new international markets for soybeans.
The theme for this year’s program was “Looking to the Future” and highlighted Canadian soybean production capabilities and advantages. There were very high turnouts from Asian industry representatives at seminars in each country where the Canadian presentations focused on our points of difference including segregation systems, environmental sustainability practices in soybean production and production protocols that ensure Canadian food-grade soybeans are the highest quality.
“The investment by the government in our market development initiatives allowed us to communicate Canada’s commitment to producing high value, traceable, safe and quality assured soybeans to members of the value chain in each country,” says Martin Harry, Chair of the Canadian Soybean Exporters’ Association. “Japan, Singapore and Malaysia are three of the top five markets for Canadian food grade soybeans so it is very important to maintain existing relationships and market share in each of these countries.”
The trade mission included representatives from the Canadian Soybean Council, the Canadian International Grains Institute, the Canadian Soybean Exporters’ Association and the Canadian Grain Commission. Funding for a portion of the trade mission was from the Canadian government through theAgriMarketing Program under Growing Forward, which helps industry implement long-term international strategies.
“The entire trip went beyond our expectations,” says Ontario soybean farmer Markus Haerle. “The seminars were very well attended in every country and the tours of the industry-leading miso, tofu and soy beverage facilities were informative for us Canadians and a great opportunity to discuss the performance of Canadian soybeans at the customer level.”
The next steps following this mission are two-fold. The information gleaned through the tours and meetings in our key markets will be communicated to Canadian farmers in order to expand production of our high value IP soybeans. Additionally, this summer, an incoming mission is being organized to bring some of the major soybean buyers from Japan to Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec to tour farms and handling facilities in each province.
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The Canadian Soybean Council (CSC) was established in 2005 as a partnership between Canada’s soybean growing provinces; Manitoba, Quebec and Ontario. Our original focus was identifying and developing new export markets for high quality Canadian soybeans.
Contact: Nicole Mackellar, 519-767-4124
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