Visit seeks boost in Mexican trade

BOISE – Gov. Butch Otter will lead a delegation of more than a dozen Idaho companies to Mexico in an effort to boost trade with the country.

Otter’s last mission to Mexico was in 1998 as lieutenant governor, but this is his first as governor and comes almost a year after he led a trade mission to Cuba.

Idaho already has an established trade relationship with Mexico, but state officials say a burgeoning middle class makes Mexico a prime market for future consumption of Idaho potatoes, onions, dairy products and frozen foods.

Otter, who will be joined by his wife, Lori, was expected to leave today and return April 29.

The governor’s office said the trip will cost $52,600, including costs for the governor, state troopers accompanying him and officials from the state Commerce and Agriculture departments.

Otter and his wife will pay her travel costs.

Business officials and others in the delegation are obliged to cover their own expenses, as well as pay a $1,000 participation fee for each Mexican city they visit. Revenue from those fees is projected to total about $33,900, leaving the state to cover the remaining $18,700, Otter spokesman Jon Hanian said.

Trade with Mexico has grown significantly since the country contracted for $43 million worth of Idaho goods in 1996.

Last year, the state sold nearly $140 million in exported goods to Mexico, said Laura Johnson, a marketing manager with the state Department of Agriculture.

Exports of malt products to Mexico increased 28 percent from 2006 to 2007, from $32 million to $42 million, and vegetable exports increased 25 percent during the same period, Johnson said.

Johnson said the state has “done a lot over the past few years” to promote onions and potatoes.

Processed food exports, such as canned vegetables and frozen appetizers, were up 31 percent and brought in $15 million last year.

Idaho’s dairy exports to Mexico also increased, from $6.8 million in 2006 to $8.5 million last year, and Johnson said officials will be looking for ways to sell even more dairy products to Mexican consumers.

“There’s a lot of potential there,” Johnson said.

Officials from High Desert Milk Inc., a dairy based in Burley, will be among those traveling with the governor. The guest list also includes officials from the University of Idaho and the state’s potato, wheat and bean commissions.

Robert Haggerty, international program director at the UI College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, will join the delegation Tuesday in Monterrey, Mexico. Haggerty will use his food science expertise to assist Idaho companies looking to expand trade south of the border.