Agri-food strengths on display as Sask. minister travels to Southeast Asia

Saskatchewan’s agri-food industry will be front and centre when Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison travels to Southeast Asia next week.

Harrison will visit Singapore and the Philippines from March 10-15 and meet with a number of food processing and agriculture companies to talk about trade and investment opportunities.

“Saskatchewan has what the world, and particularly Southeast Asia, needs, ‘food, fuel and fertilizer’,” Harrison said.

“Saskatchewan is a world-leading producer of sustainable food, fuel and fertilizer, which gives us the unique ability to work with Southeast Asia to enhance its food and energy security.”

He will also use these missions to promote new trade opportunities with the province and Canada, which recently signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTTP).

Harrison will also be showcasing the province’s leadership in agricultural biotechnology and life sciences.

“More than 31,000 newcomers from the Philippines have made Saskatchewan their new home in the last decade,” Harrison said.

“I firmly believe that there is a huge opportunity for increased trade between our province and the Philippines. Historically, significant trade opportunities have followed such substantial population shifts.”

In 2017, Saskatchewan exported $7.9 billion worth of goods to Asia which includes $1.2 billion to Singapore, the Philippines and the other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to officials.