Leveraging Trade Shows and Trade Missions: NASDA’s Integrated Approach to Global Market Expansion

Promoting agriculture at home and abroad is a primary responsibility for state departments of agriculture. The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture creates a platform to support its members in engaging in activities related to strengthening the competitiveness of U.S. agriculture, expanding market access and promoting U.S. agricultural products globally through a uniquely integrated strategy that combines trade shows and trade missions. This dual approach effectively connects U.S. farmers and food and beverage producers with international buyers, government representatives and industry partners, fostering robust relationships that propel U.S. agriculture into new and existing global markets.

For example, NASDA’s A Taste of the States trade pavilions, produced in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service, serve to help U.S. food product companies source export opportunities. For over 40 years, these events have enabled small- to medium-sized U.S. food and beverage businesses to present their products to new international buyers and forge invaluable business relationships, access critical export market insights and accelerate market entry. NASDA’s major events, “A Taste of the States: Chicago” at the National Restaurant Association Show and “A Taste of the States: Miami” at Americas Food and Beverage Show, have become vital venues where buyers and smaller U.S. food and beverage businesses engage through structured one-on-one meetings designed to maximize business potential.

Multiplying these domestic efforts, NASDA’s trade missions strategically bring U.S. agricultural delegations directly into targeted overseas markets. Recent missions to Morocco, Kenya, Panama, the Philippines, Vietnam and more, and resulting inbound missions of international delegations to California, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska and more exemplified the value of personal engagement in fostering trust, mitigating market barriers and identifying emerging opportunities. Such missions provide delegates with first-hand exposure to foreign market conditions and regulatory environments while elevating the U.S. agricultural brand through government dialogues and industry exchanges.

These efforts also catalyze reciprocal engagement. Relationships formed during trade missions led to invitations for international buyers to attend NASDA’s trade show pavilions, creating direct opportunities to purchase U.S. products, deepen familiarity with American companies and establish long-term commercial partnerships. The synergy between trade shows and trade missions is evident in the ongoing feedback loop they create. For instance, the recent Morocco partnership highlighted in NASDA’s programming was instrumental in encouraging Moroccan buyers to participate in NASDA’s A Taste of the States pavilions, resulting directly from relationships developed during a trade mission in January 2024.

Following the initial trade mission, NASDA-sponsored Moroccan buyer Oussama (Sam) Alaoui, chairman and CEO of Stellar International, met with 21 new U.S. suppliers and identified five promising distributorship opportunities at the “2024 A Taste of the States: Chicago.” This momentum continued at NASDA’s 2024 Miami show, where NASDA-sponsored Moroccan buyer Youssef Tagma, senior business development manager at Stellar International, projected anticipated purchases of $100,000 to $250,000 following meetings with U.S. exhibitors. In 2025, results further expanded, with NASDA-sponsored Moroccan buyer Charaf Dafer, general manager of Anouar Invest, reporting approximately $1.2 million in purchases following participation in the Chicago trade show. Most recently, at the 2025 Miami show, NASDA-sponsored Moroccan buyer Abdelaziz Guider of Panna Negoce Sarl reported immediate purchases totaling $100,000 to $250,000, with anticipated additional purchases of $100,000 to $250,000. This Miami event also benefited from a USDA Foreign Agricultural Service–sponsored reverse trade mission that supported participation from four additional Moroccan buyers, further amplifying engagement.

This mutually reinforcing dynamic is not unique to Morocco; NASDA has seen similar outcomes with buyers and exporters across multiple regions, as trade missions and trade shows consistently build upon one another to deepen relationships and unlock new market opportunities worldwide. NASDA’s ability to align trade shows and trade missions as complementary vehicles for export expansion showcases the value of a coordinated, multi-faceted trade promotion agenda that benefits producers, buyers and consumers worldwide.

As international trade becomes increasingly important, NASDA will continue reinforcing its comprehensive strategy to benefit local economies and family dinner tables at home and abroad. By partnering with USDA to facilitate market entry, promote science-based trade standards and support reciprocal trade development, NASDA members are helping strengthen U.S. global competitiveness in food and agriculture. Learn more stories of NASDA members and state agriculture departments’ work to promote U.S. agriculture on the NASDA website.

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NASDA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit association which represents the elected and appointed commissioners, secretaries and directors of the departments of agriculture in all 50 states and four U.S. territories. NASDA grows and enhances American food and agricultural communities through policy, partnerships and public engagement. To learn more about NASDA, please visit www.nasda.org.