Boise, Idaho – Governor Brad Little said today he is seeing early positive results from Idaho’s first virtual trade mission to Mexico last week.

Mexico is Idaho’s fourth largest export destination, accounting for the purchase of $224.2 million in Idaho products in 2020. Export markets continue to be critical to Idaho businesses and the state’s economy. The virtual mission to Mexico was organized by the Idaho Department of Commerce and the Idaho State Department of Agriculture.

Mexico Virtual Trade Mission Highlights

 “Idaho’s businesses have boundless potential, and this mission was a successful effort to help them continue to grow,” said Governor Little. “Company feedback so far indicates there will be increased sales as a direct result of this mission.”

The Idaho companies and organizations participating in the virtual trade mission represented a wide array of industries including dairy, beans and ancient grains, fresh produce, beef, livestock genetics, ag-tech, real estate, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing. In just one week, the Idaho-Mexico trade office hosted more than 90 virtual matchmaking meetings between Idaho and Mexico companies.

Governor Little’s leadership was instrumental in highlighting Idaho’s high-quality products and services, opening opportunities to important companies such as HEB and Grupo Aeroméxico, which gave Idaho companies the opportunity to present their products and establish contacts with the high-level decision makers.

The virtual mission also was an opportunity to thank long standing customers for their valued business and strengthen relationships with key partners to help exporters grow their business and increase market share in Mexico. A virtual mission does not replace direct personal visits with prospective buyers, but the virtual mission was an excellent alternative.

Quotes from trade mission participants: 

“Although we are already established in Mexico, the mission helped us open some new doors for business. We are already setting up some additional follow-up meetings with potential customers and made some good contacts. Long term, we are looking at moving some of the MPC 70 from our expansion towards the Mexico market over the next year. The staff we worked with did an amazing job of facilitating and setting up the meetings, and overall it was a success.”  – Randy Robinson, High Desert Milk 

“The trade mission has been a great success for Ramper Innovations, with new connections in a new region where the market has a strong potential. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity that the Governor's virtual trade mission has brought to Ramper Innovations. Governor Little and Director Kealey's direct involvement helped us get to the decision-makers quickly and effectively. ” – Chris Stock, Ramper Innovations Inc.

“The Governor’s mission was truly helpful. While we have approached HEB in the past, this meeting was crucial in getting HEB interested in Idaho products, giving us the opportunity to present product and pricing for their specific needs. We are now in the process of introducing HEB to the higher end products from Idaho, with a high possibility of success” - Ruben Santiago Chavarria Mendiola, Atlantic Prime, Distributor for Agri Beef Co. 

“We had informative, forward-looking meetings with potential partners and customers that are a good match with Encoder Products Company’s (EPC) capabilities and market focus. One of these prospects, a machine builder/system integrator, has already received a quote from (EPC) for an active project.”  - Dave Wilson, Encoder Products Company 

“We are very grateful with the work done by the Idaho-Mexico team. Thanks to their efforts, Cremeria San Jose and Qualtia Foods have formally opened their doors to our products with a clear intention to buy. This has been a great accomplishment as a result of this mission. Additionally, Schreiber Foods International has significantly increased their monthly volume of products from the Gooding, Idaho, facility. We are very thankful for these results, recognizing the excellent teamwork.” - Cesar Peredo, Glanbia Nutritionals

“We were pleasantly surprised that the Idaho Mexico Trade Office staff were able to successfully identify and schedule meetings for us with not just a few but seven very diverse companies qualified to introduce our new EdTech product, databot™, to the Mexican market. Although it is too early to tell what these relationships will ultimately produce, the companies and individuals appear to be an excellent fit for our needs and we are already scheduling follow-up meetings. The opportunity in Mexico for education products is significant and we’re excited to pursue this expansion.” - Databot, Robert Grover

“We believe that we may be able to market an additional 4 million to 8 million pounds of product into Mexico as a direct result of this mission. It is likely that we may be able to sell additional product, but our philosophy is that slow and steady wins the race! Overall, this mission was well planned, well thought out and well executed. We highly enjoyed getting to know these companies over the Zoom platform and it worked very well for establishing legitimacy and overall beneficial relationships. We couldn’t have done this without the support of the Governor’s office.” – Kacy Gehring, Mountain States Oilseeds 

“The meetings went great! These would be my first exports to the Mexican market.  I would estimate potential sales in the 2021 calendar year as a direct result of participating in this trade mission at $30,000, with much higher values possible in future years after we have established our systems specific to Mexican exports.” - Seth Christensen, Christensen Genetics 

A strong list of Idaho businesses and organizations joined Governor Little and the Idaho departments of Commerce and Agriculture for meetings with companies in Mexico, including:

1000 Springs Mill

Agri Beef Co.

Berkshire Hathaway HS Silverhawk Realty

Christensen Genetics

Databot

Encoder Products Company

Glanbia Nutritionals

High Desert Milk

Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee

Mountain States Oilseeds

Muscle Foods

Ramper Innovations

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