While trade has been sluggish over recent years, that hasn’t been the case between Wisconsin and Mexico. And dairy has been at the core, growing trade between the regions as Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker shares on the above video at the CIGAL Dairy Trade Show in Guadalajara, Mexico.
These days, Mexico is Wisconsin’s second-largest trade partner with dairy and agricultural products topping the list. In 2015, trade from Wisconsin to Mexico rose 4.6 percent. Meanwhile, goods and services flowing from Mexico to Wisconsin grew 4.5 percent during the same window. In all, revenues total some $3 billion for Wisconsin, and that creates nearly 120,000 jobs.
Further proof that the ties between the two regions are as strong as ever . . . Milwaukee was chosen over Hawaii, Tennessee, and New Jersey as the newest location for a Mexican consulate.
This trade mission brings to light a revitalized commitment to trade by Wisconsin. At the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Secretary Ben Brancel has led an effort to engage international trade partners via its International Agribusiness Center.
Jen Pino-Gallagher heads the initiative serving as bureau director. Working with ag products and livestock are Enrique Gandara and Jennifer Lu, while Lisa Stout and Ashwini Rao handle processed foods. Christine Stamm is the office operations associate. For more on the International Agribusiness Center, click this link.
This Hoard’s Dairyman Intel article is part of an ongoing series that will highlight a Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer (DATCP) trade mission to Jalisco, Mexico. That trade mission coincided with the CIGAL Dairy Trade Show held June 13 to 17, 2016. In all, 11 companies, two educational institutions, two Wisconsin state agencies, and one publication attended the event, along with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and DATCP Secretary of Agriculture Ben Brancel.
Click here to view previous reports from this trade mission:
Two Dairylands forge a stronger alliance
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(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2016
July 25, 2016
