International buyers will arrive in Halifax tomorrow to participate in the Atlantic Craft Trade Show (ACTS) 2007, to be held February 3-5, 2007. More than 200 ACTS exhibitors from the four Atlantic Provinces will meet with the international buyers in an effort to generate interest and sales for their craft and giftware products.

Canada�s New Government and the four provincial governments in Atlantic Canada are providing a contribution of $75,000 to the Atlantic Craft Trade Show in support of the 2007 incoming buyer�s program. The funding is being provided through the Canada/Atlantic Provinces Agreement on International Business Development (IBDA).

"Canada�s New Government is proud to support Atlantic Canada�s craft and giftware industry � an industry that continues to help the region�s economy," said the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). "Trade shows, like this one, can really make a difference to open up export opportunities for Atlantic Canadian companies."

"This year we will be hosting incoming buyers from New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina. Our program this year also features seminars for participating companies on becoming export ready and developing new export markets for Atlantic Canadian products," said ACTS Manager Bernard Burton.

ACTS 2007 � the 30th annual trade show � opens markets for new and established craft and giftware producers throughout the Atlantic Provinces. Retailers from Atlantic Canada, Quebec and western Canada, as well as U.S. buyers attend the annual trade show which in February 2006 yielded onsite sales of $1.2 million.

The IBDA is a federal/provincial export development agreement between the Government of Canada (represented by ACOA, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, and Industry Canada) and the four provincial governments in Atlantic Canada. Since 1994, 32 per cent of companies that participated in an IBDA-sponsored trade activity for the first time have since begun exporting internationally; 42 per cent of companies reported an increase in the volume of their exports; and 29 per cent started exporting to new markets as a result of IBDA activity.

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For further information visit www.acoa-apeca.gc.ca/ibda

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