The New Orleans-based Louisiana District Export Council will hold two days of training beginning Tuesday for Louisiana businesspeople who want to export their company’s products or services and build business outside the U.S.
Eight speakers are delivering a series of workshops at the Port of Caddo-Bossier designed to help Louisiana firms develop an export initiative and refine international trade strategies, according to program coordinator Marisol Canedo. It’s the first time the Louisiana export training program has been offered in Shreveport. Canedo says it’s meant to be an overview.
“You’ve got many countries. You’ve got many products. This is not one that’s on a specific country, or a specific product or service. This is generalized information across the board,” Canedo said.
Louisiana’s exports topped $65 billion in 2014, marking the sixth consecutive year of export growth for the state. Petroleum and coal are the state’s leading exports, according to federal data. Canedo says the Commerce Department has a number of resources to help small businesses develop an export strategy. She says small firms are often the most nimble and able to be successful in global trade.
“Sometimes, small- to medium-sized companies work just as well as major corporations because they don’t have the bottleneck or the processing to have to go through because the decision makers are the owners of the company,” Canedo said.
The Louisiana Export Training Program will be held Tuesday, May 12, and Wednesday, May 13, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Port of Caddo-Bossier’s Regional Commerce Center.
