Organic exporters get a boost

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

Saskatchewan’s organic sector is getting a boost with the expansion of a successful financing program for exporters.

Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) is providing $1 million in targeted support for companies exporting organic or natural branded agricultural products through the nextrade™ program.

The nextrade™ finance initiative is administered by STEP – the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership. The program provides customized financing solutions for small and medium-sized exporters in the province. Basically, it gives companies the ability to grow larger by providing flexible financing to cover the costs of doing business abroad, such as the input costs required to fill a large order.

The program has been a huge success since its inception two years ago, generating an estimated $18 million impact on the Saskatchewan economy.

The new investment from SAF will enable nextradeTM to focus on one of its biggest clients.

“The funding will allow STEP to further meet the demands of our rapidly growing organic sector, which has become a dominant area of past nextrade™ finance lending,” said STEP CEO Dale Botting.

“By creating this separate fund balance dedicated to the sale of organics and natural products, the injection will also create more room in the balance of the nextrade™ finance fund to serve the increased demand from all other sectors.”

Agricultural commodities and agri-value sectors account for over half of the value of all transactions under the initiative. The organic sector accounts for 90 per cent of the program’s transactions in the agricultural commodity sector.

Saskatchewan is Canada’s leading exporter of organic products. The province has the largest acreage of certified organic farmland in Canada (more than 700,000 acres), as well as the largest number of certified organic producers (more than 1,200).

SAF Minister Mark Wartman says the funding will meet an important market demand.

“We wanted to ensure that STEP has the resources it needs to continue to meet the demands of our growing organic sector, both now and into the future,” said Wartman.

Botting used the announcement as an opportunity to applaud the government’s response to that need.

“This announcement is a testament to our excellent public-private partnership between STEP and the Saskatchewan Government,” Botting said.

For more information, contact:
Glen Millard, Executive Director of Export Services
Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership
Phone: (306) 529-7252