Trade has been a massive topic on the agriculture front for a while now, with issues arising with China, Saudi Arabia, Italy and India making headlines over the last year.

Curt Vossen is the President and CEO of Richardson International.

Vossen says even with all of the bad news out there on the trade front; there’s reason to remain optimistic.

“Here’s the good news people still have to eat, and they have to eat to the same degree, and as our population globally increases, we will need more not less to meet that demand and probably at a higher quality in the past,” Vossen said.

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He adds there will always be bumps in the road on the trade front.

“The good news is there will be twists and turns in the road of international trade we’ve had them before, we’re having them now, and we’ll have them in the future and what we have to be buoyed up by and made more confident.”

Vossen says so long as they act intelligently, logically, consistently and predictably.

“We should be able to do as well as anyone else in that same marketplace that we participate in on a global basis.”

He says Canadian companies should always be ready to make adjustments on the fly so they can deal with trade disruptions.

“You adjust and look for new markets; you adjust your offering to that particular market, you respond where possible and where valid to a concern that has created the issue that particular market and you go forward.”

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Trade was one of the focuses of the Canada Agriculture Summit, which was put on by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce in January.

Other topics discussed included Canada’s obligation to feed the world, what needs to be done to make Canada more competitive globally, and how to engage consumers better.