Mexico City, October 24 (EFE).- Strengthening commercial ties and presenting its sustainable development plan that can be replicated by Mexican companies were among the objectives of the visit to Mexico by the Minister of Agriculture of Saskatchewan, Canada , David Marit.

“We see Mexico as an excellent trading partner. It is our fourth largest trading partner in the world and we feel it is very important for us to come here,” the head of the Canadian province, one of the biggest agricultural powers in the country, said in an interview with the ‘EFE.

Marit, who was in the country for a week, where she visited Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City, said her tour served to strengthen the Canadian province’s commercial ties with Mexican companies.

“We’ve had fantastic meetings with many of the top companies here in Mexico. We see a very good opportunity,” he said.

The Minister recalled that Mexico is one of the main buyers of Canadian canola, but pointed out that there are other products from this country that are attracting interest, such as wheat, oats and pulses.

“We see a lot of wheat coming into Mexico and we actually talked to the companies and asked them why they buy Canadian wheat and they said they buy it for the quality. It’s very high quality,” he said.

TEACHING SUSTAINABILITY

For the Minister, one of the main characteristics of Canada has been the work of companies to be more sustainable and respectful of the environment, which has caught the attention of Mexican businessmen.

“We have a good story to tell and that’s why we are here. We probably do it in the most environmentally sustainable way and companies are looking for that. That’s why we are here. We are here to tell this story,” he said.

Marit affirmed that Mexico has great opportunities since Mexican companies want to do business with Canadian companies, although she acknowledged that one of the main problems that exist are government policies that can affect obtaining products from different parts of the world.

“There are probably concerns about, if you want to call it a weakness, federal policies and how they affect trade,” he acknowledged.

However, he pointed out that the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC) is appreciated by companies from both nations.

“Companies really like it, even Canadian companies love it for many reasons. They have consistency, they know the policy on trade issues and there are tariffs (because) tariffs have pretty much disappeared from a lot of products,” he commented.

He stressed that for this reason “it is important to work together”.

“That’s why we opened a sales office in Mexico City. We want companies to be able to come and ask what we’re doing and we want to get that message out here on the ground,” he explained.

Finally, he said they would continue to work for Saskatchewan companies to expose their work to countries like Mexico.

“We will collect data and figures and show them to companies that request them,” he concluded. ECE

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