Southern United States Trade Association Mission in Miami will Link Exporters to Buyers from Chile

NEW ORLEANS, LA, October 19, 2011 (Press-News.org) The Southern United States Trade Association (SUSTA) today announced two major outreach efforts designed to help companies that sell high-value food and agricultural products increase their revenue through exporting, in particular to Chilean markets.

Using Miami's 15th Americas Food and Beverage Show and Conference November 14-15 as the setting, SUSTA will host opportunities for companies to meet one-on-one with a delegation of pre-qualified buyers from Chile. Companies selling snack foods, prepared frozen foods, baked goods, candy, sweeteners, cereals, beverages and condiments are of particular interest to the buyers. The registration deadline for the one-on-one meetings is October 28, and the fee is $25. Sign-up is available at http://www.susta.org. Interpreters will be provided if needed.

"The emergence of a strong middle class in Chile has increased demand for foreign goods," said Jerry Hingle, SUSTA's executive director. "Southern U.S. companies make ideal trading partners because of the quality of their products and the appeal of southern cooking and ingredients among the Chilean people. The free trade agreement recently signed between the U.S. and Chile has spurred demand in Chile for U.S. products, while making us more competitive in this growing market."

SUSTA Deputy Director and International Marketing Director Bernadette Wiltz pointed out that "This is an excellent opportunity for small companies to meet foreign buyers without having to travel outside the country. At the same time, they have a chance to learn about more ways they can access export markets with SUSTA's help."

In addition to the meetings with Chilean buyers, SUSTA will reach out to companies from the southern U.S. at the Miami show to inform them about resources available for their international marketing efforts. Those include reimbursement of up to 50 percent for eligible expenses under SUSTA's MAP Branded program, low-cost Generic events and other free tools designed to help companies take their business global. SUSTA representatives, who can be found at booth 901 in the U.S. pavilion, also will walk the conference floor to meet with other exhibitors targeting the Caribbean, Central America and other foreign markets. Information about the conference is available at http://www.americasfoodandbeverage.com.

The Southern United States Trade Association is a non-profit trade development association composed of the Departments of Agriculture of the 15 southern states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Since 1973, its programs and services have assisted exporters of high-value food and agricultural products. SUSTA is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), its member states and private companies.