The Kansas Department of Agriculture is seeking individuals to participate in Petfood Forum China in Shanghai, China, from August 21-27, 2017. This conference will allow the representatives to explore export opportunities, conduct market research, and begin to establish a network of contacts to help Kansas small businesses in the pet food and pet care market.

The pet food sector contributes approximately $2.53 billion annually to the Kansas economy, and supports more than 1,900 jobs in Kansas. “The pet food industry is a growing sector in the Kansas agriculture industry,” said Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Jackie McClaskey. “There is great potential for small businesses in Kansas to achieve growth through strategic efforts to explore the pet food export market.”

Petfood Forum China is a one-day premier networking and educational conference for global pet food manufacturing industry professionals held in conjunction with Pet Fair Asia, one of the largest pet product trade shows in the world. Participants will meet with the industry’s leading suppliers of pet products. KDA plans to take a group of five representatives of Kansas companies within the pet food industry.

Attendance at Petfood Forum China is supported by a State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) grant, funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, which helps Kansas non-exporters get started and existing exporters to export more. Since the grant’s inception in 2012, more than 30 Kansas small businesses have participated and achieved $9.2 million in actual export sales.

Companies in the pet food industry which meet the Small Business Administration’s definition of a small or medium-sized business are invited to apply to participate. Interested individuals should complete the application forms available on the KDA website at agriculture.ks.gov/International. Applications are due by June 2, 2017. For more information, contact KDA agribusiness development director Lynne Hinrichsen at Lynne.Hinrichsen@ks.gov or 785-564-6757.