Companies from the four Atlantic provinces recently returned home from the Team Canada Atlantic trade mission to New England. Following a successful four days of meetings, Island companies are initiating the follow-up needed to secure business with their New England contacts.
"We're extremely pleased with the results of this year's mission," said the Honourable Pat Binns, Premier of Prince Edward Island. "For many of the smaller companies, this trade mission offered them support and encouragement to explore a market that offers them access to millions of consumers. Through an initial assessment of the mission, it appears that Island companies have achieved between $3 and $6 million in sales as a result of the contacts made ... a very significant accomplishment. Once the post-mission evaluation is complete, we will be releasing those results as well."
Several of the companies wrapped up their meetings on Thursday making some of their best contacts of the mission. Amalgamated Dairies Limited, the largest dairy producer in Prince Edward Island, was on the mission marketing their ADL branded cheese.
"I made two great contacts on the last day of the mission that have great potential for ADL branded cheese," said Ron Dehmel, Director of Sales and Marketing for ADL. "One large food broker provided me with information on all the major food chains, food brokers and every single food distributor in New England, saving me more than a month in research."
"My second meeting was with a broker who sells specialty cheeses to distributors and retailers in all of New England and throughout the US," Dehmel said. "I've had several conversations with him since I've returned home, and it looks as though there's potential for several million dollars worth of Canadian cheddar cheese business for ADL annually."
The Team Canada Atlantic mission was an initiative of the Council of Atlantic Premiers in cooperation with the Alliance of Manufacturers and Exporters Canada. The trade mission was being funded by the Government of Canada through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) as well as the companies participating on the mission. The four-day trade mission began in Boston, Massachusetts on May 8 and moved to Warwick, Rhode Island and New Haven, Connecticut before wrapping up in Braintree, Massachusetts on May 11.