SIAL Canada 2011 will see everything from Colombian Pandebono to Fruit Pulp

Nine Colombian companies will have the chance to show their diverse products to over 12 thousand professionals from the agro-food industry and 500 exhibitors who will attend SIAL Canada, one of the most important food trade shows in the world.

The encounter, to take place in Toronto from May 11th to the 13th, will host the national companies Ciamsa, Tropickit, Ingredia, Casa Luker, Pan Pa Ya, Pocafecol, Prodia, Café Quindío and DML Sugar.

The Colombian companies will be located in the PROCOLOMBIA stand, where there will be a 'sensations bar’ where a chef will be cooking the different samples for visitors to enjoy.

Casa Luker, for instance, will offer chocolate covering which may be used for candy bars, lollipops, truffles and deserts. “I can’t reach Canadian bakeries, restaurants or pastry shops from Colombia. Hence, I need a distributor who specializes in fine foods and that is precisely what I’m going to do in Canada. To find one", explained Francisco Gomez, Manager, International Business for Casa Luker.

Tropik Kit, on the other hand, will travel to Toronto to strengthen its exports of papaya and yams, and to extend its current offer to other products. “We want to start to send mora (mulberry), frozen mango, mango pulp and dehydrated uchuva fruit. This is a great time to do this, now that the Free Trade Agreement with Canada is in place”, said Lizeth Correa, General Manager of Tropic Kit.

Philippe Vernet, Food Engineer at Ingredia, shares the same opinion. “We are not taking exotic or strange flavors, but we are taking products at very competitive prices. Thus, we are going to look for business partners for our products such as powdered onions and dehydrated vegetables, or our soups, sauces and creams," he said.

The foregoing is in addition to the efforts led by PROCOLOMBIA to diversify business opportunities where many of the products to be exhibited at SIAL will be included as part of those with the highest potential, such as exotic fruits, fresh vegetables, sugar and cocoa.

Other business opportunities will be in the sector of flour and bread, something Pan Pa Ya are already thinking of leveraging upon during their visit to Canada. "In our search for distributors, we will take our line of bread with raw ready-to-bake products, such as frozen bread dough. But the idea is to place new products in the market, like our 100% fruit popsicles", said Johan Alzate, Administrative Director.

However, not only our national exporters will have high hopes. Thanks to the FTA with Canada which is about to enter in force, several eyes will be placed on Colombia's exhibitions during SIAL.

The FTA between Colombia and Canada is a result of the economic internationalization policy led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism.