FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 14, 2010
CONTACT: TED O’MEARA
207.699.4401
ted@cutler2010.com
PORTLAND, Maine – The chairman of the largest and most important Chinese importer of food and the chairman of one of China’s most significant investment funds will lead a delegation of Chinese businessmen on a visit to Maine on Friday. They will explore the potential for substantial purchases of lobster, wild blueberries and other Maine products, and examine investment opportunities in the Maine aquaculture industry.
“With all the great products we have in Maine, we can make trade with China a two-way street,” said Eliot Cutler, Independent candidate for governor, who will be hosting the group in Maine. “I am confident that having these highly influential Chinese business leaders visit our state will be just the beginning of some important new relationships and opportunities for Maine companies.”
Ning Gaoning, Chairman of the China Overseas Food Corp (COFCO), and Fang Fenglei, chairman of the investment fund Hopu, will be joined by Liu Mengze, President of Ceroilfood, one of COFCO’s most important subsidiaries, and Guy Cui, one of Mr. Fang’s partners in Hopu.
The group is coming to Maine at the invitation of Cutler, who spent two years in China opening the Beijing office for his law firm and developing business opportunities.
“Getting Maine people back to work and growing our economy will depend in part on developing new export opportunities for Maine products,” Cutler said. “China is the fastest growing big economy in the world. It is a market that holds huge potential for Maine, and I want to do everything I can to help Maine companies get a foot in the door.”
Cutler cited Maine lobsters as a good fit for the Chinese market. The Chinese currently import lobsters from Australia and New Zealand, but he said those lobsters can’t begin to compare to Maine’s. “They don’t even have real claws!” Cutler said.
“The lobster industry has been hurting due to historically low prices and high costs. I have met with fishermen, processors, and leaders of Maine’s lobster industry up and down the coast, and they all have told me that they have to expand into new markets to survive,” Cutler said. “I know that the decision makers who are visiting Maine next week will be impressed by the quality of our lobsters and the network of fisherman, dealers and processors who can deliver live and processed product to them.”
Cutler said the group will go out on Casco Bay Friday morning to haul some traps with a local fisherman and learn about the sustainability of Maine’s lobster harvest. They will also tour Portland Shellfish Company, a local processor that exports to over 20 countries internationally, among them China and Hong Kong, and will meet with other members of the Maine Lobster Promotion Council and other industry representatives.
Later in the day Friday the group will head down east to visit Jasper Wyman & Son wild blueberry operations in Cherryfield and Deblois. Wyman’s is the largest U.S.-owned wild blueberry grower/processor in Maine and has a great interest in expanding into the Chinese market.
The group will end its visit to Maine with a tour of the Maine Halibut Farms, an aquaculture company at the University of Maine’s Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research in Franklin.
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Note: A detailed schedule with specific information about times, locations, and media opportunities will be forthcoming tomorrow.
Additional background information on the significance of this visit can be obtained from:
Dane Somers
Maine Lobster Promotion Council
207-287-5140
207-749-1407 mobile
Info@lobsterfrommaine.com
Emily Lane
Portland Shellfish
207-799-9290
emily@pshellfish.com
Kim Higgins
Jasper Wyman & Son
207-546-2311
kim@wymans.com
Ted O’Meara
Cutler 2010
P.O. Box 15277
Portland, ME 04112
(207) 699-4401
(207) 653-2392 (cell)
www.cutler2010.com
