A delegation of five to seven Mexican onion importers and buyers will visit Idaho and Oregon Sept. 17 and 18, with plans to meet with shippers, visit fields and packing sheds as well as to source onions. The visit has been arranged by the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
“The mission will include one-on-one meetings with Mexican onion importers and buyers, and as time allows, visits with onion growers and packing sheds around the Idaho-Oregon border, including the growing areas of Parma, ID, and Nyssa, OR,” a recent announcement from the Western United States Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA®) and the Idaho and Oregon Departments of Agriculture said.
“Mexico is the number-two export market for Idaho and Oregon and onions,” the announcement continued, “Per Euromonitor International, USA Onion exports to Mexico grew from $15.5M in 2012 to $48.0M in 2017.”
Local onion operations are encouraged to participate, with the announcement saying the event will not only provide the one-on-one meetings with onion importers and buyers but also afford the domestic onion industry to learn “about the opportunities and demands of the Mexican market.” Participants will be able showcase their “onion growing, packing, and shipping expertise to a broad spectrum of potential customers.”
The cost to participate is $20 per company, and the deadline to register is Sept. 6. Suitable products include fresh onions, the announcement said. For more information, contact Laura Johnson, Bureau Chief at the
Idaho State Department of Agriculture, (208) 332-8533 and email laura.johnson@isda.idaho.gov; or Erick Garman, Trade Development Manager for the Oregon Department of Agriculture at (503) 872-6602, email egarman@oda.state.or.us.
