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On January 14 & 15, 2008, the Consulate General of Canada visited Palm Beach County to become familiar with the agriculture and bioscience industries, shipping logistics, and real estate development in Palm Beach County. Jan Scazighino, Consul & Senior Trade Commissioner, Margaret Cullen, Trade Commissioner (Food Sector), and John Streif, Trade Commissioner (Building/ Construction Sector) attended this meeting. This Familiarization Tour was organized by the World Trade Center as part of Palm Beach County’s Economic Development Office international economic outreach strategy to increase local trade exports and global investment. On the first day, the delegation visited the Farm Credit of South Florida and was presented with an overview of the agricultural industry in terms of farm equipment, products, farmers and growers, lending and financial options, and bio-fuel. The delegation was surprised to find out that a bilateral trade already exist between Canada and Palm Beach County. There are business owners that reside in Canada and do agricultural business in the County and vice versa. International trade offers an important opportunity to generate additional farm income and keep farms economically viable in the County. On the second day, they visited the Port of Palm Beach, Tropical Shipping and other local businesses. Canada is in need of more shipping lines to lower the cost of fuel associated with trucking and Palm Beach County’s Tropical Shipping could be the solution since it could transport Canadian goods to the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America. There will be more discussions in the near future about how to increase Canadian companies use of Tropical Shipping. On their visit to Scripps Florida, the delegation indicated that Canadian companies would welcome opportunities for exchange and collaboration. They have advance research in many biotech areas, including agricultural, bio fuel, bio science, and renewable energy. There is also great interest from Canada in increasing opportunities in finance, real estate development, and construction & building supplies including green building, alternative energy and climate-resistance buildings. The Canadian Consulate will be hosting a party at the International Builders Show in Orlando, Florida the third week of February, 2008. The Canadian Consulate will visit us again and encourage Canadian companies to come to Palm Beach County. For more information, please contact Barbara Fiedor at the World Trade Center Palm Beach at (561) 712-1443. |
301 N. Olive Avenue, 10th Floor
West Palm Beach, FL 33401 phone: (561) 355-3624 fax: (561) 355-6017 Mapquest |
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