Over the course of a week, six buyers from Mexico, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, invited by Imalinx, visited potato and onion producers in Reno, Nevada, and Boise, Idaho. In Reno, with support from the Nevada Department of Agriculture, the group traveled to Winnemucca and Yerington to meet two producers. Later in Boise, the Idaho State Department of Agriculture arranged visits with five additional producers. The agenda also included a dinner with the Idaho Eastern Oregon Onion Committee (IEOOC), where support programs were presented, and questions were addressed.
Throughout the visits, buyers learned firsthand about harvesting, packaging, quality standards, technology, and company operations, allowing them to assess not only pricing but also the overall value offered by each producer. As a result, two buyers confirmed plans to move forward with yellow onion purchases, while the IEOOC will continue follow-up efforts in Mexico to support importers and strengthen their sales through various activities.
In partnership with the Western United States Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA), Imalinx coordinated a trade mission to Bogotá, Colombia, involving 10 companies from the grocery, pet care, and alcoholic beverage sectors.
During the mission, 101 one-on-one meetings were held over a two-day period, facilitating direct contact between U.S. exporters and Colombian buyers. Participants also attended ExpoIALIMENTOS and conducted a showcase at Grupo Éxito to present their products and send samples for future opportunities.
The program included visits to supermarkets such as D1, Alkosto, Éxito, and Carulla, as well as educational sessions on the Colombian market and its import process, conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture.
This mission successfully enhanced commercial relations between the two countries and created meaningful growth prospects for the participating companies.
The Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) organized a trade mission to Idaho, inviting representatives from Comestibles Maldonado a company with over 40 years of experience importing fruits and vegetables to visit the state and meet with local growers and packers.
During the mission, participants toured the facilities of:
In addition to visiting the fields, facilities, and learning about the unique quality protocols of Idaho potatoes, the buyers held meetings with executives and managers from each company to discuss opportunities to promote Idaho potato purchases.
Thanks to this well-planned and strategic mission, Comestibles Maldonado established key business relationships, resulting in the immediate purchase of 20 truckloads of Idaho potatoes.
The success of this trade mission strengthened the product’s presence in the Latin American market and opened more business opportunities.
Imalinx and the Southern United States Agribusiness Trade Association (SUSTA) coordinated the trade mission to Mexico City and Monterrey from October 7th – 10th. Three companies from different categories-snacks, groceries, beef jerky, and multivitamins-registered for the mission.
The mission included one-on-one meetings, supermarket visits, and educational sessions by Imalinx and the Farm Bureau to understand the market in each city. Each company had an average of 5 appointments in each city for a total of 41 meetings during the mission, all with buyers who have specific interest in the exporters.
The supermarket visits were in stores such as Costco, City Market, Chredaui, Ingredienta, HEB and Soriana. The companies were able to better understand their competition in Mexico, price range, indirect competition and different formats available in Mexico City and Monterrey.
The Western United States Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA), in conjunction with the Idaho and Oregon Departments of Agriculture and Imalinx, scheduled a trade mission to these states with a delegation of Mexican buyers from the ingredient and foodservice industry to meet new suppliers of grains, seeds, processed products and value-added products.
Imalinx recruited buyers who had one-on-one meetings with 15 companies to develop new business, visits to some of their plants and also visits to supermarkets for end consumers and foodservice where they were able to see new product trends and food and beverage presentations.
“Thank you for the invitation to this trade mission. We have a lot of potential with new products such as khorasan and teff. We must follow up with the companies as necessary to be able to enhance the results of new business opportunities.” Added Value Buyer
As part of the WUSATA program for Mexico in 2024, an inbound trade mission focused on agricultural products was coordinated, which was led by Imalinx-Mexico, acting as the representative in the country. The mission took place from July 7 to 12, 2024.
The main objective of this trade mission was to educate suppliers from the western United States about the Mexican market. Attendees had the opportunity to meet key contacts within the Mexican import industry and establish one-on-one relationships. Trade visits included tours of the facilities and fields of American companies. The final delegation consisted of five Mexican importers from different regions of Mexico. They met with ten suppliers and visited seven packing plants.
Key Points:
In December 2023, WUSATA’s largest trade mission (Mega Mision) was once again held.
As every year, as representatives of the Western U.S. Agribusiness Association in Mexico, we hosted and organized the Trade Mission that offers U.S. exporting companies an exceptional opportunity to meet with buyers from Mexico and Latin America.
It took place in Mexico City and Monterrey from December 3rd – 6th, 2023, where B2B meetings were held between exporters and potential buyers from Mexico City, Monterrey, Panama and Costa Rica, such as supermarkets, importers, distributors and food service institutions. Two exhibition spaces were set up in Mexico City and one in Monterrey, where participating U.S. companies were able to meet with different importers and showcase their products.
A total of 13 U.S. companies attended the Mission coordinated by the Washington State Department of Agriculture and the California State Department of Agriculture.
A total of 160 meetings were coordinated during the mission with 54 buyers in Mexico City and Monterrey. In addition, 4 Latin American companies, 2 Panamanian and 2 Costa Rican companies flew to Mexico City and 4 regional Mexican buyers flew to Monterrey to meet with the delegation.
Imalinx in coordination with WUSATA coordinated a Seafood Trade Mission as In-Country Representative from August 21-24, 2022 in Oregon with assistance from the Oregon State Department of Agriculture.
The objective of the trade mission was to help educate suppliers in the western US about the Mexican market, inform them of key contacts within the import industry in these markets, and establish business relationships.
The visits included visits to production plants, offices of suppliers and a menu demonstration with products from the region. The following Cities were visited: Portland, Astoria and Newport. The final delegation had 4 participants (3 buyers and 1 gastronomic journalist).
As part of the 2023 program, SUSTA organized a trade mission to Houston. Texas and Atlanta, Georgia for 4 Mexican buyers to meet with nearly 40 companies from the Southern United States that are members of SUSTA (Southern U.S. Agricultural Trade Association) to develop commercial opportunities between both countries.
The buyers traveled to both cities being received by the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Georgia Department of Agriculture, coordinating meetings between buyers and sellers in a Table-top format, combined with visits to supermarket stores and other suppliers. Trade leads were generated that we hope will result in sales in the near future.
The WUSATA Mexico Consumer Oriented Outbound Trade Mission took place in Mexico City and Monterrey from December 5th – 9th , 2022. These activities included logistics arrangements and meetings scheduled with potential buyers from both cities such as supermarkets, importers, distributors, and foodservice institutions. Additionally, a market briefing was provided by the Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) in Mexico City and Monterrey as well as an imports seminar. 2 tabletops were coordinated in Mexico City and other 2 in Monterrey where U.S companies were able to meet with different importers and showcase their products.
A total of thirteen companies attended the Outbound Trade Mission coordinated by the Washington State Department of Agriculture and the California State Department of Agriculture.
A total of 192 meetings were conducted during the mission with 45 different importers, retailers and distributors in Mexico City and Monterrey averaging 15 meetings per company.
Additionally, 6 buyers from Central/South America were flown to the mission in Mexico City and 4 Mexican regional buyers were flown to Monterrey in order to meet with the delegation.