At FITT we had a burning question: What does the future hold for the international trade in agriculture products?

We wanted to know, what are some of the key challenges, opportunities and trends that we will see in the industry? And how would those issues affect those involved from the farmers to the labourers, exporters, and ultimately the consumers?

We decided to put this question out to the experts and the public the best way we know how, through our monthly #TradeElite Twitter chat. It was pretty ambitious to tackle a subject this big in a one hour discussion, 140 characters at a time, but with the help of a wise, quick-thinking panel of experts and a brave, skilled moderator we got to the heart of the matter.

The conversation on the future of agri-trade took place on April 14, 2016. Check out some highlights from the chat below.

Moderator: Craig Atkinson, CITP|FIBP (@CraigAAtkinson) Director, International Trade and Development Consulting with Lexmerca International Trade, formerly with the ITC, based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia

Panelists:

Clarecia Christie, CITP|FIBP (@ClareciaChriste) Project Manager and Team Lead, Trade Information Services at Trade Facilitation Office of Canada, based out of Ottawa, Ontario.

Miguel Garcia-Winder (@MGWMex) IICA Representatative to the USA and Head of the Center for Strategic Analysis for Agriculture at IICA, based out of Washington, D.C.

Juan Navarro (@JSNavarroe) Principal at CMX Partnerships and ArribaMexicoFoods, founding President of the Mexi-Can Forum, based out of Victoria, British Columbia.

Andrew Braun (@BraunBraun) Trade Officer, Agri-Value at Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP), based out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

What are some of trends we can expect in agri-trade?

#TradeElite Q2 A2: value added and ethnic products will increase but commodity trade will also.products experience different patterns

— Miguel Garcia-Winder (@mgwmex) April 14, 2016

What impact will multi-regional trade agreements (TPP, CETA, etc) have on agricultural trade?

A3: So, Governments and society need to work together to prepare, be competitive and succeed in FTAs like TPP #TradeElite

— Juan Navarro (@jsnavarroe) April 14, 2016

Are there any innovations/technology that are simplifying agri-food trade?

A4. I’ll answer my own question… #appropriate tech could also be a solution for small producers to move up the “value chain” #TradeElite

— Craig A. Atkinson (@craigaatkinson) April 14, 2016

A4. Food waste sucks but we have a market model where ppl only make $$ if we are consumptive. Model needs to shift. #TradeElite

— audrey ross (@tresAudrey) April 14, 2016

Q4: Food producers will need to find innovative ways of transparency to build trust in consumers for the processes/ingredients #TradeElite

— Andrew Braun (@BraunBraun) April 14, 2016

What are some of the challenges to accessing financing for agri-food exporters?

#TradeElite Q5A2 in develping countries challenges is to create formal mechanisms of finance that help reduce risk to producers/exporters

— Miguel Garcia-Winder (@mgwmex) April 14, 2016

How can the globally important role of women in agriculture receive better recognition?

A6 women are mostly the workers on smallholder lots we need to advocate for landowner rights for women in Dev countries #TradeElite

— Clarecia Christie (@ClareciaChriste) April 14, 2016

Anything else you’d like to add?

Ag in developed and developing countries has differences, however we have to work together collaborating with each other #TradeElite

— Juan Navarro (@jsnavarroe) April 14, 2016

Read the rest of the chat and follow future discussions by following the #TradeElite hashtag.

Stay tuned for the next #TradeElite chat, coming up Thursday, May 5 at 2:30-3:30PM EDT.

The post What does the future of Agri-Trade hold? appeared first on Trade Ready.