Contact:      Maine International Trade Center
                   511 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
                   Media Liaison Catherine Macri  (207) 541-7455  macri@mitc.com
                   MITC President Richard Coyle (207) 541-7408 coyle@mitc.com

 DATE:         February 26, 2003

Headline:    Maine International Trade Center Hosts Mexican Seafood Buyers

Body: A delegation of eight Mexican seafood buyers will be coming in for the Boston Seafood Show the week of  March 10th and will be hosted by the Maine International Trade Center.  These buyers include top retailers such as H.E.B. and both retail and foodservice distributors. Janine Bisaillon-Cary, Vice President and the Food and Agricultural Trade Advisor at the Trade Center will be bringing the group to the Boston Seafood Show and hosting them at the "Maine Event"- the Maine seafood processors dinner prior to the trade show.  Later in the week the Trade Center will be touring Maine seafood processors facilities with the group including Maine lobster, scallop, monkfish and groundfish processors.  

On March 14th from 10-12 the Maine International Trade Center will be holding a program on Food Export to Mexico.  Pia Cortes, a food and agricultural attaché with the Foreign Agricultural Service located in Mexico City will be presenting to all Maine companies interested in the Mexican food market.  Ms. Cortes will be explaining how the retail and foodservice industries are structured in Mexico and what resources exist for helping U.S. food companies sell into the market. 

Following the presentation, there will be a Special Seafood Panel where buyers from the incoming delegation will explain how they source product and buying trends on the Mexican seafood market.  A question and answer period will follow where Maine companies can express their interests and inquiries.

For information on this program and the incoming delegation, companies can contact Janine Bisaillon-Cary at 541 7412 or jbcary@mitc.com.

The Maine International Trade Center is a public / private partnership providing international trade development assistance to Maine businesses that are active, or seeking to become active internationally.  The Trade Center is a member-based organization with offices in Portland, Lewiston and Bangor.