Apply for inclusion in the B.C. Agrifood & Seafood Export-Ready Catalogue

This catalogue is used by B.C.’s Trade and Investment Representatives across the United States, Asia, South-East Asia and Europe and the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (located in embassies and consulates around the world) to introduce foreign buyers to a sampling of the many products available from British Columbia. 

How to apply

B.C. agrifood or seafood companies interested in having their profile included in the catalogue can apply using the following process:

Step 1 – Applicant completes a self-evaluation to confirm eligibility

An applicant company should review the following eligibility criteria and confirm the minimum requirements are met.
Companies that do not meet these requirements are ineligible for inclusion.

Eligibility criteria

1. Must have a head office in B.C. or be registered in B.C.;
2. Must market products that have been either produced, processed* or manufactured in B.C.;
   * B.C. processed food is any food, seafood or beverage product processed and packaged in B.C. with more than 85 per cent of the product's main ingredients produced in B.C. In cases where the main ingredients are not available in B.C. in sufficient quantities, the food must be processed and packaged entirely in B.C.
3. Must have an established market within Canada (i.e. successfully selling to retail or food service buyers within Canada on a consistent basis for more than three years);
4. Must be currently exporting products outside of Canada, or be ready to begin exporting within the next year; and,
5. Must have the capacity to expand sales to meet new orders from international buyers, including the necessary:
   • financial resources:  capacity to travel to export markets to meet with buyers and support ongoing promotional efforts required to be successful in export markets;
   • human resources:  capacity to manage the development and maintenance of new export trade relationships on top of existing commitments; and,
   • production levels:  capacity to produce more product to meet additional orders from international buyers, or have sufficient product already produced and available to supply new markets.

Step 2 – Applicant completes and submits an application form

Once an applicant has confirmed they are eligible to apply, they complete an electronic application form and email it to: FoodsBC@gov.bc.ca for review. Incomplete application forms will be returned to the applicant for completion; only fully complete application forms, including all requested information, logos and product photographs (in the correct format, as outlined in the application form) will be accepted. 

• Export-Ready Business Catalogue application form (DOCX, 199 KB)

Application form intake deadlines

There are six application form intake deadlines. If an application form is submitted by these intake dates, then eligible applicants can expect the profile to be available online in English by the dates identified in the table below:

Step 3 – Review of application to verify eligibility

After each intake deadline, the B.C. government will review all submitted application forms to verify that applicants meet the Eligibility Criteria. During this review, the B.C. government (and/or a contractor working on behalf of the B.C. government) may communicate directly with the applicant should further clarity or information be required to verify eligibility. All applicants will be notified of their eligibility approximately four weeks after each intake period.

Step 4 – B.C. government develops profile in consultation with applicant

Once eligibility has been confirmed, the B.C. government (and/or the contractor working on behalf of the B.C. government) will connect with each applicant to discuss the development and design of their new company profile.  This process will require two-way dialogue over a period of approximately six weeks to develop a new profile that aligns with the existing profiles in the Catalogue in terms of overall content, format and style.

Step 5 – Applicant approval of final profile

Once the final draft of a new company profile has been developed to the satisfaction of the B.C. government, the profile will be sent back to the applicant for final approval.

Step 6 – New company profile posted online

Final approved profiles will be included in the online B.C. Agrifood and Seafood Export-Ready Business Catalogue in English approximately four weeks after final approvals. These profiles will also be incorporated into any future versions in Mandarin Chinese, Korean and Japanese as well as the printed B.C. Agrifood and Seafood Export-Ready Business Catalogue created by the B.C. government.

Step 7 – Review and update information annually

Once a year (date to be confirmed), the B.C. government (and/or a contractor working on behalf of the B.C. government) will connect with each company listed in the catalogue to request any necessary updates to the information in each profile. Each company is responsible for confirming and/or updating the information in their profile once per year in order to maintain their status as an active company within the catalogue. Companies that do not provide confirmation or updates during the annual update process will be removed to ensure catalogue quality. Please check back for updates.