BWI brokers food from South to South

Barbara Righton, Global Report

How the Toronto company links agricultural sellers and buyers around the world in an instant

In 55 countries around the globe, Toronto’s Bassett and Walker International buys, sells and delivers agricultural commodities—fish, meat, dairy and vegetable products—to feed people and make pharmaceuticals.

Finding new opportunities and using its proprietary software to inform clients has allowed the company to grow its revenues by more than 30 per cent since 2011 even in a down economy.

“We ship from southern Patagonia to Europe,” says CEO Nicholas Walker, “and that’s a long haul”. “When things are not so good, the food business continues to make money,” Walker says. “But the emerging markets are our biggest growth opportunity.”