Earlier this month, officials representing Iowa’s agriculture industry participated in a trade mission to the Latin American nations of Colombia and Panama.

Bill Tentinger of Le Mars was among those trade team participants. Tentinger has been on several previous trade missions to nations such as Japan, China, Mexico and the Phillipines. He says he was
surprised of the acceptance of U.S. meat products by the Colombians.

“You know, I went into this trip not knowing what kind of a market we were going to get into,” Tentinger said. “After we got there, I came to realize the importance of this, especially in Colombia–the potential for increased movement of U.S. products into that country, and the demand, [and] the acceptance of our product with the local consumer, which is always very important when you’re trying to develop new markets. If you’re up against culture, that is always an issue, but I didn’t feel that on this trip.”

In addition to visiting Colombia, the trade team also spent time in Panama–a country Tentinger had previously visited on a separate trade mission. He says since the U.S. entered a free trade agreement with Panama, he has noticed improvement with the trade relations.

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