Whether it's pickles from Poland, cheese from Australia or olives from Egypt, the landscape of the specialty food industry is increasingly dotted with products from emerging international sources.

And while these countries have yet to reach the scale in terms of visibility and promotion of some of the better-known international producers such as Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Germany and France, they are definitely on the radar of importers, brokers and retailers.

Activity at national retailers, such as Amazon.com, can be one way to gauge where consumer interest lies within the ethnic and emerging cuisine category.

Glenn Cunningham, who heads Amazon.corn's Home & Garden Store, said the year-old gourmet food segment provides products from around the world.

"What's moving the needle now," Cunningham said, are exotic meats, ranging from yak to bison to crocodile; fresh fruits and vegetables from South America, Indian and Pakistani foods and Indian cooking accessories.

Under its regional/ethnic food heading, the site lists products from Africa, India, Greece, Poland and Russia along with the better-known specialty food-producing countries such as France, Spain and Italy.

Cunningham explained the food is supplied through partners, such as iGourmet, Pacific Rim Gourmet and Cheese Express. "For small specialty retailers this is an exceptional platform to get their ethnic offerings in front of 39 million customers," Cunningham explained.

He said while he couldn't identify specific companies, "we do see an opportunity for further ethnic partners."

Linda Smithson, who with her partner, Eleanor Hanson, operates Edina, Minn.-based FoodWatch, a trend identification and analysis firm, looks to mentions in the food media as well as restaurant menu information to see which cuisines are garnering attention.

Among the areas that Smithson said have gotten more attention of late are coastal Spain, Tunisia, Chile, Peru, Cuba, Argentina, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, China's Shanghai, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, Morocco and Greece.

While not all of these have sustained interest, Smithson said, the foods of these countries are showing up on menus or are being written about in newspapers and magazines.

With restaurants often providing the first taste of foods from certain countries or regions, this sector can influence what soon appears on specialty store shelves.