For Canadian grain farmers, the timing couldn’t be better. Organized by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), a late July trade mission to the Indo-Pacific region aimed to bolster ties with Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore—three key buyers of Canadian cereals in the region. Cereals Canada CEO Dean Dias joined AAFC Minister Heath MacDonald and representatives of six additional major agricultural organizations to strengthen relationships in a region that annually imports more than a quarter of Canada’s total agricultural exports.

In February, the federal government created the new Canada Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food office (IPAAO) in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. The facility is intended to expand trade opportunities in the region. “The creation of the IPAAO is unprecedented for Canada’s agriculture sector,” said an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) spokesperson. “It is the first time the sector will have a regional office dedicated to the Indo-Pacific region as a whole under Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.”