Talking Trade

In the latest episode of “Talking Trade,” Midwest Food Products Association President Jason Culotta discusses supply chain challenges, impacts on pricing and more. 

Certain metals used in can manufacturing have been in short supply in the United States, he said, which impacts the Midwest canned food industry. The region supplies most of the U.S. canned vegetable supply,  from sweet corn to green beans. 

“We beat everyone in the world on quality, but on price … normally with labor it’s not an issue actually, surprisingly, compared to the foreign competition,” he said. “But this packaging issue, with the steel for the cans, has put us at a bit of a disadvantage.” 

More foreign products in this market are being sold by U.S. retailers, Culotta said, adding that’s been disappointing to see. Many of those competing products come from China, Thailand and Brazil, he said. But he noted “these things ebb and flow, and we’re sure hopeful that we’re going to get a chance to compete fairly again.” 

He also shares his thoughts on top export opportunities for agricultural producers, highlighting “some significant growth” in places such as Mexico and the Netherlands. 

And Culotta touches on new shipping lanes opening up in the Midwest, emerging trends in the transportation business and more. 

In the latest episode of “Talking Trade,” co-hosts Sandi Siegel and Ken Wasylik interview Ian Coxhead, senior research fellow for the Institute of Developing Economies in Tokyo, Japan, about trade policy and Asian economics.

Coxhead, a former host of the show, shares his perspective on China’s economy, noting its central economic role for other nations in Asia. 

“Before the global financial crisis, China was doing great with all of these policies and efficiency gains. Since about 2010, a lot less growth. And this year, much, much less growth in the Chinese economy,” he said. 

He explains China has been challenged by slow growth, aging population, a shrinking labor force and financial instability. 

“All of these things are not the product of the Trump trade wars and the terrible Chinese response to COVID-19, but they have been exacerbated by those as well,” he said. “Chinese households, they’re getting scared. Their savings are tied up in real assets and stuff like that, so they’re really unwilling to spend at the moment.” 

Coxhead added Chinese skilled labor is still very limited, despite national workforce investments. And major efforts, such as the global Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure project, have been “very costly with very little payoff” for the country’s economy. 

He also highlights ripple effects on other middle-income countries that have relied on the Chinese market to prop up their growth. 

In the latest edition of “Talking Trade,” Croix Valley Foods owner Damon Holter discusses the company’s history, successes and plans for future expansion. 

The Hudson-based business operates out of a 20,000-square-foot facility where it makes barbecue sauces, steak sauces, marinades, dry rubs and bloody mary seasonings.

“It’s been very successful, and we continue to thrive here in the U.S. and abroad,” Holter said. 

He highlights the company’s efforts to reach international customers after realizing “the competition in the grocery industry is really cutthroat,” with relatively small margins. After being approached by a distributor in Canada, the company turned to buyers in the hardware and home improvement industry, Holter explained. 

“Basically anywhere that people are selling grills and grilling accessories, so we saw the success in the Canadian market and we decided to pivot our business here in the U.S. to do the exact same thing,” he said. “It really increased our business tremendously.” 

Holter also touches on the company’s participation in professional barbecue and steak competitions in other countries, which further catapulted efforts to reach new markets such as parts of Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. 

“We’ve utilized the lessons that we’ve learned and the relationships we’ve built with other people across the world — especially those that are passionate about cooking, and competition cooking specifically — to be able to take our business from where we were a few years ago to really the next level,” he said. 

In the latest episode of “Talking Trade,” Canadian Consul General Aaron Annable shares the latest figures illustrating Canada’s trade relationship with Wisconsin. 

According to Annable, 174 Canadian companies currently operate in the state, employing more than 22,000 Wisconsin workers. Annual trade between Canada and the state reached $14.7 billion in 2022, marking a 13 percent increase from the prior year, he said. 

“This means that Canadians buy 31 percent of all foreign-bound goods produced in Wisconsin, and that’s more than the next five largest foreign markets for the state combined,” Annable said. 

Total Wisconsin exports to Canada were up 15 percent last year, he added. The state’s largest export categories to its northern neighbor were paper and plastics last year, valued at $621 million and $615 million, respectively. 

Plus, nearly one-fourth of all Wisconsin imports from Canada are forestry products, valued at around $1.4 billion annually. Other top import categories include agricultural products and equipment and machinery, each of which are valued at around $800 million per year. 

“We’re very optimistic about seeing this growth continue, given the very positive and productive relationship we have with Wisconsin,” he said. 

Annable also discusses bipartisan efforts by U.S. lawmakers to boost trade and improve security agreements with Canada, as well as the latest international supply chain trends and more. 

In the latest episode of “Talking Trade,” international trade consultant Chris Wojtowicz of the Small Business Development Center highlights resources available to companies in the state. 

“Wisconsin has a wonderful, really dynamic ecosystem of help for exporters,” he said. 

He touches on support offered by local chambers of commerce, economic development officials and state agencies such as DATCP and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. 

And he discusses the role of trade compliance experts for companies looking to reach international markets, noting the current trade landscape is becoming more complex. 

“I don’t want to scare people away, but I want them to just take a look and see what could possibly affect their business … At the end of the day, if you’re exporting and you have any kind of concern about your product or who you’re doing business with, that would be the time you know you need a compliance professional,” he said.

In the latest episode of “Talking Trade,” Rural Export Center Director Heather Ranck highlights exporting opportunities and resources for rural companies. 

This North Dakota-based national research center is part of the U.S. Commerce Department, and focuses on assisting small businesses in rural parts of the country with market research and other support. 

“There are three main barriers to exporting for rural exporters: knowledge, connections and confidence,” she said. “And you can use data to tackle all three of those … We tie in our global network of staff that are at the U.S. embassies and consulates around the world with the U.S. Commercial Service to help tackle those barriers.” 

The center helps its clients identify promising export markets, spending more than $1 million per year on databases. Plus, it provides lists of potential buyers to U.S. companies using its network of contacts, as well as web presence analysis and other services, Ranck said. 

She discusses one example of a Wisconsin company that benefited from the center’s services: Ventris Learning, a provider of early childhood education curricula based in Sun Prairie. 

“We identified some potential partners, and they ended up signing a partnership with a company in Australia,” she said. 

In the latest episode of “Talking Trade,” Port of Milwaukee Director Jackie Carter discusses plans to develop a new cruise ship dock, commodity shipping and more. 

“We are the northernmost point that can access the Mississippi River … We can get down to the Gulf of Mexico, we can get through the seaway, so from the East Coast there’s commodities that come in,” she said. “So there’s a lot of different ways that you can get products to the heartland of America, and they can come through the Port of Milwaukee.” 

As the second-largest port on the Great Lakes system by tonnage, Port of Milwaukee plays a major role in supporting business imports and exports in the region, Carter explains. 

She also highlights a new agricultural maritime export facility being developed at the port, and how farmers in the Midwest will benefit. 

“We’re really proud that that’s going to be located right here at Port Milwaukee,” she said. 

In the latest episode of “Talking Trade,” St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation Administrator Adam Tindall-Schlicht underlines the importance of Great Lakes shipping for the Midwest economy. 

He also highlights room for growth in the region, noting the amount of vessel traffic through these waterways could be doubled with “no operational impact” on U.S. and Canadian ports there. 

“Now, we want to do that in an economically and environmentally resilient way,” he said. “We view ourselves as stewards of the Great Lakes, and stewards of this freshwater asset.” 

Tindall-Schlicht also discusses the need for expansion, automation and infrastructure investment at U.S. ports on the Great Lakes, referencing the “generational opportunity” presented by the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and Inflation Reduction Act. 

“We’re in a time of cargo diversification on the Great Lakes,” he said. “We’re seeing new container services coming online that forwarders are looking at, that supply chain logisticians are looking at.” 

In the latest episode of “Talking Trade,” Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity CEO Buckley Brinkman discusses how the center prepares businesses for exporting. 

He says the center’s ExporTech program helps manufacturers develop an exporting plan in 90 days that can be implemented immediately. 

“It’s really a strategic submersion, where you really get to the point where you understand, here’s my product portfolio, here are the likely targets in the world where this can be sold, and then connecting into the other resources that are available through the state or the federal government,” he said. 

According to Brinkman, companies that have gone through the program gain about $1 million in additional sales on average. 

“This isn’t as risky as most people think, because you have a lot of people helping you,” he said. “Then you have an opportunity for a huge upside when you’re talking about exporting.” 

He also shares his thoughts on some of the top trends impacting manufacturers, including supply chain uncertainty, the effort to get “critical manufacturing” out of China and the outlook for the North American market.

In the latest episode of “Talking Trade,” MI Group Senior Advisor Terry Dittrich discusses the path ahead for rebuilding infrastructure in Ukraine. 

While the war between Russia and Ukraine rages on, Dittrich says reconstruction planning has already begun, noting “if you wait, you’ll be too late.” He shares insights from a recent conference held in Poland focused on these efforts. 

“The bottom line is, the Europeans, the Asians and to an extent, some American companies, are already in planning,” he said. “A lot of engineering, planning, design … particularly things like social housing and hospitals, schools. Very immediate need-type projects.” 

While banks in Ukraine aren’t currently operating due to instability, Dittrich says large European banks are “starting to put themselves in a position to go in” once the conflict is over. 

“I’d say we’re probably about six to 12 months away from major funding being available,” he said. “And of course that’s all contingent on things settling down over there … but pre-planning is going on full speed.” 

Dittrich adds the “real gateway” into Ukraine right now is Poland, noting most staging efforts for financing, exports and services are based in Warsaw.