Department Recruiting Maryland Food Companies for Chinese Trade Mission

ANNAPOLIS, MD – The Maryland Department of Agriculture is recruiting Maryland food companies for a five-day trade mission to China, August 13-18. Participating companies will meet one-on-one with dozens of food and beverage buyers in Shanghai, Ningbo and Guangzhou. Buyers are specifically interested in grocery items, canned goods, beer and wine, dried fruit and nuts, baking mixes, dairy products, snacks, baby food, breakfast cereals and ready to eat packaged food.

“I encourage Maryland produce growers take advantage of this international marketing opportunity,” said Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Joe Bartenfelder. “International markets create more opportunities for our farmers to grow, and can provide relief when local demand decreases.”

To register for the trade mission, contact Stone Slade at stone.slade@maryland.gov or 410-841-5779. Registration fee is $600, and includes briefings, one-on-one meetings with buyers, tours of retail stores, in-country transportation, interpreter services, and shipping for up to 50 pounds of product samples. Deadline for registration is May 5.

This trade mission is a joint project by the Maryland and North Carolina agriculture departments and the Southern United States Trade Association (SUSTA). SUSTA’s in-country consultants will be working with Maryland companies participating in this trade mission.

The Eastern China market has a strong middle class, with a population of 1.3 billion. A similar mission last year resulted in $3 million in sales for participating companies. For more information, visit the SUSTA website.

# # #

Follow Maryland Department of Agriculture on Twitter @MdAgDept