Monthly Event Recap – October 2023

Food Export – Midwest and Food Export – Northeast’s mission has always been to help U.S. companies increase their export sales. One of the main ways we do that is by attending and hosting events around the globe.  

In this monthly blog we highlight everywhere we went and everything we did during October 2023!   

Value-Added Feed Ingredients Buyers Mission at World Dairy Expo 
Madison, WI 
October 4, 2023 

Early in October, Food Export – Midwest hosted the annual Value-Feed Ingredients Buyers Mission at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin. Buyers from Brazil, Chile, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Portugal, Trinidad & Tobago, and Vietnam traveled to Wisconsin to meet with twelve U.S. suppliers. In addition to their one-on-one meetings, participants had the opportunity to do a retail tour of Rosendale Dairy, one of the biggest milk producers in the state. Initial reports show that 31 distributorships were established. 

The World Dairy Expo is the world’s largest dairy-focused trade show, making it an excellent venue for suppliers in the feed-ingredient market. 

Administrator Whitley’s Visit 
Chicago, IL 
October 5, 2023

On October 5, Food Export was honored to welcome U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Administrator Daniel Whitley to our headquarters in Chicago. During the visit, he had the opportunity to meet with staff members and learn about the organization’s plans for the future. Administrator Whitley praised the 40-year-long partnership between FAS and Food Export. Food Export is able to support small- and medium-sized business export their food and agricultural-based products with funding from the Market Access Program (MAP), which is administered by FAS. 

Food Export Member Meeting 
Philadelphia, PA 
October 11-12 , 2023

The annual Food Export Member State Marketing Meeting took place at the Westin Hotel in downtown Philadelphia. This annual meeting is a unique opportunity for both Food Export-Midwest and Food Export-Northeast staff, state members, activity coordinators, and In-Market Representatives to come together and connect on a variety of topics and issues relating to agriculture, food production, and exporting 

Food Export staff had a chance to share everything that is new in their programs, including the new In-Market Representative for the Sub-Saharan Africa region. The conference also included a panel discussion with our IMRs and a presentation by Dennis Lynch on Global Economics and the U.S. Agricultural Exports Forecast. We also welcomed Stephon Fitzpatrick, CEO, & Founder of Ag in the Culture, who gave a heartfelt and thought-provoking presentation on the Future of Diversity, Equity Inclusion, and Belonging. And no Food Export event is complete without a success story, and this year, the New Jersey-based company Kontos Food, Inc. joined us to share their export success story after utilizing our programs and services. 

This year Food Export-Northeast was celebrating its 50^th Anniversary and received a special citation for Strategic Initiatives and Market Development from Deputy Secretary Cheryl Cook from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.  

Food Show PLUS! at ANUGA  
Cologne, Germany 
October 7-11, 2023

Held biennially in Germany, Anuga is a leading trade show for the food and beverage industry, hosting approximately 140,000 visitors and 7,900 exhibitors from over 100 nations across the globe. This year, 94 percent of the exhibitors and 80 percent of the visitors were international. The show also boasted the redesigned U.S. pavilion and an abundance of plant-based products. 

Food Export staff were on-site to facilitate the Food Show PLUS! services offered at the tradeshow. These services range from access to interpreters and one-on-one meetings to post-show lead qualifications and market briefings. This year, twenty-one U.S suppliers traveled to Cologne and benefitted from Food Show PLUS! 

Focused Trade Missions to Japan and Korea 
Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, Korea 
October 23-27, 2023

At the end of the month, Food Export hosted its annual back-to-back trade missions to Japan and Korea! Our Focused Trade Mission to Japan for Foodservice and Retail took place in Tokyo in conjunction with the Agricultural Trade Office’s New Product Showcase. Along with the Food Export Association and 11 suppliers from the Midwest and Northeast regions, representatives from SUSTA and WUSATA were also in attendance with their respective companies. Participants attended a market briefing, retail tours, the product showcase, one-on-one meetings with buyers, and a reception.  

Food Export and 10 U.S. suppliers then traveled to Korea for the Focused Trade Mission for Ingredients, Food Service, and Retail. Once again, participants had the opportunity to attend a market briefing, retail tours, and one-on-one meetings with buyers.