We are happy to share great news with you! Last week, our company shipped the first consignment of refined high-oleic organic sunflower oil to Canada. Before that, negotiations with one of the biggest players in the Canadian market for production and distribution of organic oils continued for almost a year. The potential partner immediately appreciated the quality of our oil, but the key factor in favor of the decision to do business with UKROLIYA was our previous successful experience in doing business with large players in the United States.
Thanks to our new partner, our high-quality, healthy oils will be used by Canadian producers of organic foods. It is important to emphasize that in addition to a COR organic certificate of Canadian standard, our company has BIOSUISSE ORGANIC and USDA ORGANIC certificates recognized in the European Union and the United States.
The organic foods market in Canada is growing every year, and it interests us because of its undoubtedly huge potential. Thus, data by Statistics Canada indicates that the annual retail sales of organic foods and beverages in Canada have increased by 57% during the last five years and that consumers in this country spend over 5 billion dollars every year on organic foods.
Production and export of high-oleic organic oils is one of the priority areas of our business. We intend to continue enhancing our export capabilities, and the Canadian market deserves our special attention in view of the clear consumer trends that shaped up there in recent years.