The eyes turned to other markets

Pierre-Paul Biron

Saturday, 5th August 2017 00:00

UPDATE
Saturday, 5th August 2017 00:00

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CHANDLER | because of a domestic market is quickly saturated, small population obliges the companies of the Gaspésie must now see large and most of all see far if they hope to develop.

Access to external markets is part of the solution believe several people interviewed by The Newspaper. Whether to turn to Quebec city or Montreal, to the United States or even to Europe and Asia, the companies women have to dare to make the leap, writes Gino Cyr, director general of GIMXPORT, an agency that accompanies the entrepreneurs in the gaspé peninsula, notably in their export endeavours.

“The logistical constraints of transport and distance are no longer as much as before. We, we are here to help businesses improve their competitiveness and prepare for the markets that, often, they do not necessarily know, ” says Mr. Cyr about his organization, which has over 120 members currently.

Riches of the sea

Among the sectors of activity where GIMXPORT is the most active, it should be noted that fisheries and processing of sea products where significant changes currently underway.

“We need to find the way out of the lot and get the industry to diversify, to give an added value to the products. People are sometimes reluctant, but with the benefit of hindsight, they see the dynamism that that brings, ” says one who has worked with several business women in international trade fairs to promote the products of the sea in the course of the last few months.

A must

For the professor of regional development Mario Carrier, the plank of the region may be located in this opening to other markets.

“It is necessary to connect the Gaspé peninsula to what is done in the rest of the province and elsewhere in the world, as difficult as that may be. There are no other possible ways because this region cannot live in isolation. Even less so in the context of today “, raises the specialist of the University of Laval, with particular emphasis on this way of bringing “new money” in the Gaspé.

The expert cited as an example the project of the “Aluminum Valley” in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, where the development of a targeted specialization has enabled the medium-term to export the know-how in this sector.

“Yes, it is long and it is difficult, but long-term it gives you the results. In the end, it comes to stabilize and slow down the decline of a region “, said Mr. Carrier.