A delegation of Chinese value-added food importers and R&D specialists are in North Dakota this week for tours and one-on-one meetings. This reverse trade mission is part of the ongoing initiative to promote North Dakota’s healthy food ingredients throughout China. NDTO plans to host a larger Reverse Trade Mission Sept. 22-28 and will lead North Dakota businesses to China Spring 2014 for the second-annual North Dakota ‘Better for You Food Ingredients’ conference and exhibition.
July Reverse Trade Mission: July 30-Aug. 3
Chinese delegates participating in the July 30-Aug. 3 reverse trade mission have a strong interest in cereal crops including sorghum, barley, wheat and wheat flour, as well as sunflowers, flaxseed, dry beans and peas. The companies are exploring the possibility of using North Dakota food ingredients in the processing of products such as instant noodles and flours.
The delegation arrived in western North Dakota and has toured facilities including United Pulse Trading, JM Grain, North Dakota Mill and Red River Commodities, as well as the Northern Crops Institute (NCI). On Thursday, the delegation will meet one-on-one with ten North Dakota exporters at an exhibition hosted by NDTO at the Red River Valley Fairgrounds.
September Jiangsu International Agriexpo: Sept. 27-29
NDTO and NCI representatives will attend the 15th Jiangsu International Agriexpo, Sept. 27-29, in Yancheng, Jiangsu, China, in preparation for the 2014 North Dakota ‘Better for You Food Ingredients’ conference and exhibition.
Jiangsu International Agriexpo demonstrates the latest agricultural achievements, new agro-products, seeds and seedlings, species and breeds, agricultural equipment and technology in China.
September Reverse Trade Mission: Sept. 22-28
A 28-person Chinese delegation of Chinese importers and food scientists will tour North Dakota during the September reverse trade mission. This group has interest in a wide variety of North Dakota ingredients and will be split into two tracks. The first group will meet with North Dakota companies that provide beans and bean flour, flaxseeds, peas and pea flour, pasta, sunflower seeds, wheat and wheat flour. The other group will be primarily focused on food grade soybeans.
While in North Dakota, Chinese visitors will tour facilities, meet one-on-one with local exporters and attend a networking reception hosted by NDTO, the North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) and NCI.
Spring 2014 North Dakota ‘Better for You Food Ingredients’
The second-annual China-North Dakota ‘Better for You Food Ingredients’ conference & exhibition will take place in China in Spring 2014. The event will include a conference and exhibition designed to further introduce North Dakota’s high-quality food ingredients to the Chinese food manufacturing market. NCI crop specialists will give presentations to Chinese buyers, and research and development specialists and food manufacturers, while chefs prepare Chinese dishes with North Dakota value-added ingredients including: flax, sunflowers, barley, wheat, flour, pasta, soybeans, peas, lentils and dry edible beans.
Last year, fourteen North Dakota companies participated in the events, which were held in Beijing and Guangzhou. This year, NDTO, NDDA and NCI will lead a delegation to new areas to China to expand promotional efforts.
If you would like to learn more about the North Dakota-China initiatives, contact Jiwon Kim at Jiwon@ndto.com or call (701) 231-1151.