By U.S. News Agency / Asian

Business in Mindanao is thriving and it is going global. With this in mind, Mindanao-based companies will showcase the region’s best seafood products for the international market during the largest annual seafood trade show in North America later this month.

Popular and selected Mindanao seafood companies are among the 800 business firms from 36 countries exhibiting at the 29th International Boston Seafood Show (IBSS)
2011, which will be held 20-22 March in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Known as among the world’s producer of sea foods, companies in Mindanao leaving for the US are the MS Seafood Supplier, Nuevo Fresco, FAB Resources, Jarla Trading, JN Mercado, FRI Trading, Fishta Seafood Corp, Asia Pacific Aquamarine and Well Delight Tuna.

The country’s annual seafood sales to the US are close to a billion dollars. The U.S. imports about 80 percent of the seafood Americans consume, with an annual per capita
seafood consumption of approximately 16 pounds, the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) said in a statement on Thursday.

In 2008, Mindanao’s total direct exports to the U.S. of selected seafood products monitored by the Growth With Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program increased by 5 percent from 2007.These include seafood products such as sardines, tuna (in fresh, chilled, or frozen form), canned tuna, seaweed, prawns and octopus.

With the Mindanao-based food firms’ participation to the exhibition, it is expected that marketing links, trading partnerships will be established. It will also give exhibitors to observe market movements and trends in the US.

“The government’s support for the Mindanao firms’ participation in this event is part of our ongoing efforts to open up business opportunities to benefit the local economy,” Sec. Luwalhati Antonino, MinDA chair, said.

The Mindanao exhibitors will be participating in the food show through the joint efforts of USAID’s Growth with Equity In Mindanao (GEM) Program, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI),
through the Philippine Trade and Investment Centers and Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM).

Implemented under the oversight of MinDA, the GEM program is one of the USAID-funded programs covered by the Mindanao Peace and Development Assistance agreement between the governments of the Philippines and the United States.

For a decade, the GEM Program has been assisting Mindanao food companies to expand their access to both domestic and international markets by participating in trade
fairs and establishing links with exporters and potential buyers; conducting market information campaigns; and collaborating with government and private sector partners.

MinDA said about 17,000 registered buyers are expected to attend the Boston show that include world known owners and proprietors of supermarkets, wholesalers, importers, food retailers and distributors, hotel and restaurant suppliers, food service and catering organizations (including international chains), and airlines companies.

Antonino said with this development she is certain Mindanao based companies will continue making waves not only in the US but in Europe as well.