Ammon News - AMMAN (Petra)For the first time, 8 Jordanian companies are displaying their products at SIAL Canada, a trade that brings together exhibitors and buyers from around the world from the retail and foodservice industries.

The Jordanian companies participating in the exhibition hope to benefit from the free trade agreement signed between Jordan and Canada.

Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO) and Jordan Exporters Association (JEA) cooperated to organize Jordan's participation in the show, which ends May 2, 2013.

Yarub Al-Qudah, JEDCO'S CEO, said: "Due to the importance of the show, a section in Jordan's pavilion was dedicated for promotion in the tourism and investment fields, as well as to provide interested people with the names of Jordanian companies which are not represented in the pavilion." "The Canadian market is one of the most important markets for the food industry sector, due to the presence of the Arab community in large numbers and the free trade agreement between the two countries, which came into force on October 1, 2012. Also, Jordan is the first Arab country to sign such an agreement with Canada," Al-Qudah added.

He further pointed out the importance of this agreement in boosting economic ties between the two countries, develop partnerships, increasing the amount of trade and finding new markets for Jordanian products, as ell as developing foreign markets and exploring the possibility of integration with countries linked to Jordan and Canada by free trade agreements.

Trade between Jordan and Canada reached JD 54.7 million in 2012.