Saskatchewan organics on the world stage

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

The business of organics shows no signs of slowing down.

A delegation of 10 Saskatchewan organic and natural product companies has just returned from the largest organic trade show in the world.

The trade mission to “BioFach 2007” in Nuremburg, Germany was organized by the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP). The group was part of the Canadian Pavilion, which was organized by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

STEP’s Director of Agri-Value Trade Development Jennifer Evancio says that, overall, the results are very positive.

“Companies are going for different reasons. Some go to reinforce their position in the market, some are there to scope out the market, and some are there to make sales,” she said. “This show was a success for all of the companies that participated.”

BioFach is an enormous event, with more than 116 countries represented. The World Organic Trade Fair saw more than 2,500 exhibitors, and roughly 45,000 trade visitors.

“That’s the great thing about this show – it’s trade focused. It is not a consumer show: it is a trade show for business-to-business,” Evancio said.

She said Saskatchewan is in a unique position when it comes to the organic industry. In other industries, buyers and distributors think of Canada as a whole. However, in the organics sector, Saskatchewan itself is well-known internationally as a leading exporter of high-quality organic goods.

“In the organics sector, our companies have done an excellent job pushing forward their capabilities to supply products. Some of that ties back into our key strengths in the organics and natural foods industry – grains, oilseeds, wild rice, hemp, flax and bison,” she said. “But in addition to that, you are also seeing some of the value-added food ingredients and finished food products that people are looking for moving up the chain.”

In fact, Saskatchewan had the largest number of Canadian exhibitors and participants at BioFach. Saskatchewan also has the largest number of certified organic producers at 1,245, and the largest acreage of certified organic farmland in Canada at 700,000 acres.

Evancio says that having a national organic standard is also a market advantage, especially for the European market.

“Europe is one of the key markets for our organic products. There is an interest in healthy living, safe and healthy foods, environmental responsibility, and animal welfare,” she explained.

“All those kinds of trends have contributed to their interest in organics and natural food products, and sourcing them from trusted suppliers.”

One of the highlights of the BioFach show for the Saskatchewan delegation was the cooking demonstration using Saskatchewan organic and natural food products. The demonstration was made possible through funding from Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food.

Chef Tim Wasylko cooked up some tasty recipes using products available from Saskatchewan’s organic and natural food processors, including roasted flaxseed, flour, breakfast cereals, pulses, pea fiber, pancake mix, soup mixes, hemp products, wild rice, wild mushrooms, bison, pure oat food alternatives, and processed oil products.

“The cooking demonstration was another level of interaction between buyers and suppliers. It’s one thing to sample a product; it’s entirely another to sample the product in a finished recipe,” Evancio said. “It was really the organic cherry on top.”

For more information, contact:
Jennifer Evancio, Director of Agri-Value Trade Development
Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership
Phone: (306) 537-3877