This November, the World Trade Center Miami will bring more than 12,000 foreign and domestic visitors, food and beverage executives and aviation and maritime CEOs and regulators to Miami to attend three signature events created by the World Trade Center Miami.

• The 4th SeaCargo Americas and the 10th biennial Air Cargo Americas conferences and trade shows are scheduled for Nov. 4-6. These are premiere events for their respective industries, generating $100 million in on-site reported transactions at each gathering.

• The 12th Americas Food & Beverage Show (Nov. 9-10) is the hemisphere's largest Americas-focused trade event for the food and beverage industry with $3.4 billion in reported sales. The combined projected sales from the three events over the past 20 years are in the billions.

Designed to promote and facilitate multilateral trade, each show places Miami directly in the international spotlight and further strengthens the position of Miami-Dade County as the ``Trade and Logistics Capital of the Americas.''

With the global economy still struggling to correct and with trade shows worldwide reporting sales and attendance down by as much as 15 to 40 percent, the numbers for World Trade Center Miami events are up significantly. Exhibition space is ``sold out,'' sales are up 15 percent and attendee registration is over the top. In our view, this high performance is a signal the economy is beginning to curve upward. It also underscores the role of Miami as a critical center for international commerce.

Think tourism is the single engine driving Miami's economic growth? International trade is the most powerful generator for our economy, helping companies grow, keeping goods and cash in motion and creating high-paying jobs. Trade is a key force propelling Miami-Dade through any economic storm.

In a down economy, the importance and strength of international trade becomes more apparent. When profit margins at home are squeezed, smart companies can expand their distribution options and solve their supply problems through bilateral trade. There are new and growing markets around the world, with one of the largest, youngest and fastest growing on Miami's doorstep -- Latin America, a ``youth market'' with 57 percent of the population under 30 and 79 percent under 40.

For small to mid-sized companies in Miami and throughout the United States, trade with Latin America is logistically easier and more profitable, and will become more so with the enactment of new and pending free trade agreements.

Anyone with goods and services to sell can tap into new and healthy markets in Latin America and the Caribbean. Partly because Miami sits at the nexus of the trade for Europe and the Americas, and because of the quality of services they offer, our seaport and airport are among the busiest in the nation, handling the majority of goods entering and exiting the Americas region. Our geographic advantages make Miami a powerful draw as a host city as we have the strategic location and essential infrastructure.

This year's Americas Food & Beverage Show has already attracted exhibitors from 22 countries including Algeria, Brazil, Canary Islands, Jamaica, Argentina, Poland, Italy, South Korea, Malaysia, Canada and Trinidad and Tobago along with buyers from 83 nations. Exhibitors and attendees for Air Cargo and SeaCargo represent 61 countries.

As Florida's oldest global trade organization, the World Trade Center Miami's mission is to increase international merchandise trade (imports/exports), and does so with its partners, Miami International Airport and the Port of Miami.

International trade is a proven path to growth for small to medium-sized companies; the demographic we target.

As the World Trade Center Miami celebrates its 22nd year of promoting Miami, the Miami-Dade business community must continue to promote the World Trade Center Miami and its advocacy of free, fair and sustainable trade.

Charlotte Gallogly is president of the World Trade Center Miami.

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