Lobo: Mexico's U.S. promotional programs to be replicated in Canada
Lobo: Mexico's U.S. promotional programs to be replicated in Canada
The Mexican government's fruit and vegetable promotional programs that have been pursued aggressively in recent years in the United States will now be pursued with similar vigor in Canada, according to Enrique Lobo, Mexico's newly appointed minister of agricultural affairs at the Embassy of Mexico in Ottawa, ON.
Those programs are not new to Canada. But Mexico's new secretary of agriculture, Francisco Mayorga, "wants me to work very hard with the Canadian retailers" to expand those programs and achieve "the same thing that we have [with retailers] in the U.S.," said Mr. Lobo, who previously held the same post in Washington that he now holds in Ottawa. "We are going to replicate that in Canada with the support of [Ambassador Teresa Garcia de Madero] here in Canada," he told The Produce News in a telephone interview on Thursday, Jan. 26.
The plan is to "refresh" those programs and "make a stronger push," he said.
"We will continue with the direct-buying programs from [Canadian] retailers to the Mexican growers," Mr. Lobo continued. There are also plans to continue with and strengthen the MexBest program to promote Mexican fruits and vegetables in cooperation with distributors and wholesalers. In addition, "We will continue to push the Mexico Supreme Quality Seal" program and will "explore other business opportunities" as well, he said.
MexBest is a program of the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture that is described in the program's official web site as "the institutional image created to present and promote the Mexican agricultural food products with export quality at the most important expos and conferences of the agricultural industry, which take place at the most important export markets."
The Mexico Supreme Quality Seal is a program backed by the Federal Government that guarantees that certain agricultural products have met the government's "regulations and highest standards of healthiness, safety and quality." The seal is registered as an official logo to protect its use.
In order for a shipper to use the Mexico Supreme Quality Seal on a product, the product "must meet the requirements and specifications established in the Conditions Document specified for [that particular product]," according to the MexBest web site. The products are certified through "an independent organization with worldwide prestige" accredited by Entidad Mexicana de Acreditaci?n. The purpose of the program is to increase the confidence of buyers and consumers in the quality and safety of Mexican-grown produce.
Another of Mr. Lobo's responsibilities -- and also a responsibility of Ambassador Madero and the rest of the Embassy of Mexico's staff in Canada -- will be to establish relationships with the new Canadian government that was elected Monday, Jan. 23, Mr. Lobo said. "We have to build a new relationship with the new prime minister and the new cabinet that will be in place in a few weeks" and with new appointees in various agencies that will be made as a result of the Conservative Party coming into power.
Mr. Lopez has been involved in various capacities in the produce and agriculture sector for 22 years. Prior to being named Mexico's agricultural attach? in Washington, DC, he had worked in various private-sector capacities including director of procurement for the Bionova Group / Master's Touch and in retail as category manager of produce for HEB Mexico and for the Mexican retail chain Bodega Aurrera, which became part of Wal-Mart in the early 1990s.
Those programs are not new to Canada. But Mexico's new secretary of agriculture, Francisco Mayorga, "wants me to work very hard with the Canadian retailers" to expand those programs and achieve "the same thing that we have [with retailers] in the U.S.," said Mr. Lobo, who previously held the same post in Washington that he now holds in Ottawa. "We are going to replicate that in Canada with the support of [Ambassador Teresa Garcia de Madero] here in Canada," he told The Produce News in a telephone interview on Thursday, Jan. 26.
The plan is to "refresh" those programs and "make a stronger push," he said.
"We will continue with the direct-buying programs from [Canadian] retailers to the Mexican growers," Mr. Lobo continued. There are also plans to continue with and strengthen the MexBest program to promote Mexican fruits and vegetables in cooperation with distributors and wholesalers. In addition, "We will continue to push the Mexico Supreme Quality Seal" program and will "explore other business opportunities" as well, he said.
MexBest is a program of the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture that is described in the program's official web site as "the institutional image created to present and promote the Mexican agricultural food products with export quality at the most important expos and conferences of the agricultural industry, which take place at the most important export markets."
The Mexico Supreme Quality Seal is a program backed by the Federal Government that guarantees that certain agricultural products have met the government's "regulations and highest standards of healthiness, safety and quality." The seal is registered as an official logo to protect its use.
In order for a shipper to use the Mexico Supreme Quality Seal on a product, the product "must meet the requirements and specifications established in the Conditions Document specified for [that particular product]," according to the MexBest web site. The products are certified through "an independent organization with worldwide prestige" accredited by Entidad Mexicana de Acreditaci?n. The purpose of the program is to increase the confidence of buyers and consumers in the quality and safety of Mexican-grown produce.
Another of Mr. Lobo's responsibilities -- and also a responsibility of Ambassador Madero and the rest of the Embassy of Mexico's staff in Canada -- will be to establish relationships with the new Canadian government that was elected Monday, Jan. 23, Mr. Lobo said. "We have to build a new relationship with the new prime minister and the new cabinet that will be in place in a few weeks" and with new appointees in various agencies that will be made as a result of the Conservative Party coming into power.
Mr. Lopez has been involved in various capacities in the produce and agriculture sector for 22 years. Prior to being named Mexico's agricultural attach? in Washington, DC, he had worked in various private-sector capacities including director of procurement for the Bionova Group / Master's Touch and in retail as category manager of produce for HEB Mexico and for the Mexican retail chain Bodega Aurrera, which became part of Wal-Mart in the early 1990s.
