Chatham-Kent will be collaborating with Peru for the next five years in an attempt to open new markets and distribution for agricultural products.

Officials from Chatham-Kent and Peru have signed a Memorandum of Understanding Monday following the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in Peru last week.  

Mayor Randy Hope was part of a delegation that attended the summit which saw interest in Chatham-Kent’s RAFTS (Rural, Agricultural Food, and Technology Systems) program.

“Since our growing seasons are the opposite of each other, we discussed using that factor as a beginning point to explore collaboration in terms of sending some products back and forth,” said Mayor Hope in a release.

Delegates from 21 countries gathered in Lima for the summit on a variety of trade issues.

Chatham-Kent officials were part of the Canadian delegation headed by Prime Minister Trudeau and senior members of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.