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For Immediate Release

Novelle Assists the State of Sonora, Mexico in Completing its Five Year Agricultural Business Development Plan

Governor Eduardo Bours

Ciudad Obregon, Sonora – April 18, 2005 – The state of Sonora, Mexico, under the leadership of Governor Eduardo Bours Castelo, Secretary of Agriculture Alejandro Elias Calles, and Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Cesar Salazar Platt, previewed the start of its five (5) year agricultural business development plan with the symposium “Agriculture in Sonora, A Business Opportunity” held in Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, April 18-21, 2005.

About 300 growers, bankers, state and federal officials, agriculture experts and scientists, importers and exporters, wholesalers, investors, and representatives of produce industry associations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico attended the 4-day that started with a welcome cocktail party the evening of April 18th hosted by Governor Bours. The symposium was judged a rousing success with positive feedback from the participants, media reports in Sonora and Mexico, and ten (10) investment/import/development projects immediately identified as a result of networking among the invited foreign guests and the Sonora growers.

Secretary Calles opened the two days of the production and marketing symposium explaining the development process that would include all sectors of the community from the farmers to the marketers, financial institutions and the state and federal government. “It is important that we at Sonora become world-class producers in order to succeed in the highly competitive and complex global economy. We must develop strategies that address consumer needs, food safety and security concerns. We must produce products that meet or exceed customer requirements. We must employ technologies that ensure productive results, and in the process accelerate the growth of our economy, create jobs and put Sonora agriculture in the forefront of our economic development.”

Attendees of symposium in Sonora

The first day of the symposium was dedicated to tackling production issues. Deputy Secretary Salazar reviewed overall Sonora agricultural resources, crops, and a cross-section of issues that needed development and focus in order for Sonora producers to improve their competitiveness. Secretary Salazar commented, “We are blessed in Sonora with hundreds of micro-climates that extend the production cycle of numerous crops. Sonora is a pest-free zone. We have the logistical advantage of being at the U.S.-Mexico border and being at the center of the CANAMEX corridor. If we properly use these advantages and produce products that meet or exceed consumer requirements, there is no reason why we cannot succeed.”

The symposium included nine (9) forums with invited speakers addressing issues ranging from operations of successful Sonora producers, various production systems, and innovative financial models to markets for Mexico, requirements of leading importers and wholesalers, and requirements of food service operators and retailers. Additional guests presented topics of special importance to Sonora producers:

Mr. Dan Dempster, Canadian Produce Marketing Association president, discussed the market potential for Sonora products in Canada, and logistical requirements for Canada imports
Mrs. Nancy J. Tucker, Produce Marketing Association vice president of Global Business Development presented the results of the PMA research on new trends in the produce industry.
Lic. Francisco Obregon Elizondo, director of special projects in Sonora’s Secretary of Economy, presented the Conceptual Development Plan of Cuidad Obregon International Airport Air Cargo and Logistics Project, a feasibility study conducted by the Louis Berger Group.

Novelle partner Win on symposium field tour On the last day of the symposium, field trips were organized to visit a research station, and various operations and companies in the Yaqui, Mayo and Guaymas valleys of southern Sonora.

The state of Sonora retained the assistance of Novelle Consulting, LLC, a California-based global food consulting company specializing in the produce industry, to organize and facilitate the development of its five-year plan. The recently completed symposium is part of the first phase of the plan. It will be followed by additional research and organizational development work to be undertaken by the growers and the Sonora state officials. “Our goal is that by the end of 2005, we would have developed a system whereby the Sonora growers themselves, the assistance of other segments of the private sector and the state, can exercise their leadership to meet the challenges of the marketplace, to become world-class producers, and to promote their economic well-being,” explained Danilo Lopez of Novelle Consulting.