PORTLAND ( AP) — Two men who met at the University of Maine plan to take advantage of a new trade agreement to export lobster to Panama.

Jack Mosher of Waterville and John Briar of Florida sensed a business opportunity when Congress passed the agreement in October. They started a company, Maine Lobster, in Panama City and arranged for Atwood Lobster Co. in Spruce Head to serve as the supplier.

Brier, who spends his summers in Maine, told the Portland Press Herald he expects Maine lobster to do well in Panama, which currently only has access to spiny lobster, a warm water species without claws.

Dane Somers, director of the Maine Lobster Council, says the fastest growth for the industry is in exports, but Latin America hasn’t been explored much.