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Western Canada's Value-added Agri-Food Advantage

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“There's a perception of quality that goes along with the name of Canada and that's a huge advantage for our marketing.”
— Murad Al-Katib, President, Saskcan Pulse Trading Inc.

From premium wine to nutraceuticals and organics, Western Canada has developed a diverse, cost-competitive and research-driven agri-food industry. Western Canadians use innovative science and technology to turn quality ingredients into exceptional products. Along with a range of raw agricultural materials, the region has a world-renowned food inspection system, a strong, cost-effective research capacity, and a collaborative environment among governments, universities, health institutions and industry. Western Canada is a centre of global excellence for the research and production of a wide variety of award-winning agri-food products and a major investment destination for food and beverage companies.

Competitive Strengths

Canola and Canola Oil

  • World leader in canola seed production, averaging 6.2 million tonnes per year.
  • Global centre for spring canola research focused on improving yield, quality and resistance to disease.
  • Industrial capacity in processing and manufacturing canola into a variety of products such as high oleic canola oils, margarines and animal and specialty feed ingredients.

Increased Global Demand for Canola Oil

  • The Cargill Oil Seed Processing facility currently processes 2,400 tonnes per day of canola out of Clavet, Saskatchewan. Although the facility is the largest soft-seed plant in North America, in July 2006, Cargill announced plans to expand the facility and increase its canola crush to 3,000 metric tonnes per day. The expansion is linked to Cargill's focus on increased global demand for vegetable oil.
  • Bunge Canada operates four canola-processing plants in Western Canada. In January 2006, it announced plans to expand the oilseed crusher and oil refinery capacity at its Nipawin, Saskatchewan, plant to better serve growing consumer demand for nutritional oils.

Grapes and Wine

  • Rapidly growing wine industry in British Columbia: From 13 wineries in 1984, there are now 133, and licences pending for another 24.
  • Internationally recognized for the quality of its wines: BC wines have won 950 medals in international competitions
  • Meeting the high standards set by the Vintners Quality Alliance since 1990: Sales of British Columbia's VQA wine reached a record $134 million in the year ending March 2006, climbing from 10 to 20 per cent annually since VQA standards were established.
  • Recognized as the world leader in ice wine production: 40 to 50 wineries in British Columbia and Ontario produce ice wine that meets the exacting growing standards and production standards of the VQA.

Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals

  • Leader in development and manufacturing of essential fatty acid products.
  • Expert in formulation and manufacturing of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
  • Industrial capacity in value-added processing and extraction of nutritionally valuable constituents.

Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals Leaders

  • Bioriginal Food and Science in Saskatoon is the world's leading supplier of essential fatty acids.
  • Vita Health Products in Winnipeg is Canada's largest manufacturer of private label vitamins, minerals, herbal products, dietary supplements and over-the-counter drugs.
  • Forbes Medi-Tech in Vancouver is globally recognized for developing proprietary functional food ingredients derived from plant sterols.
  • CV Technologies in Edmonton combines eastern herbal remedies with western scientific methods to make COLD-fX, the official cold and flu remedy of the NHL.

Why Invest in Western Canada's Agri-Food Industry?

“We decided to expand in Nipawin, Saskatchewan, because we have a talented base of employees and strong relationships with local growers and the surrounding community.” — Larry Clarke, General Manager, Bunge North America's Oilseed Processing operations

 

Canada is the world's fourth largest exporter of agriculture and agri-food products. Canadian agri-food products are exported to more than 175 countries, with 63 per cent going to the United States, 10 per cent to Japan and 5.9 per cent to the European Union. In the past decade, the value of Canada's agri-food exports has more than doubled to $26.2 billion in 2005, making the agri-food sector a key driver of Canada's economy.

More Reasons to Invest in Western Canada

  • Low operating and business costs
  • Generous R&D tax treatments
  • Seamless access to the United States
  • Advanced food technologies
  • Reliable access to safe and high-quality raw materials

Cost-Competitive and Trade-Friendly

Canada's business costs rank third lowest among the G7 countries with a 4-point advantage over the United States, a 5.2-point advantage over Germany and an 8.5-point advantage over Japan. Canada's labour and benefit costs are the lowest in the G7. (Source: 2006 edition of KPMG's Competitive Alternatives, a guide to international business costs)

Low-Cost Leaders of Western Canada

  • In cities in the Pacific region of North America, Vancouver placed second as the most cost-competitive agri-food processing location.
  • Edmonton, Calgary and Saskatoon are the three leading low-cost agri-food processing locations among cities in Midwestern North America.

Solid Research and Development Infrastructure

Canada's international reputation for ensuring food safety and quality is a result of its commitment to growth in the food industry, its access to top-notch research facilities and its financial support and tax incentives for research and development. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency provides world-class production standards across the food and agriculture industry. A network of state-of-the-art facilities for applied research and development includes the Canadian Centre for Agrifood Research in Health and Medicine in Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba's Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, the POS Pilot Plant Corporation in Saskatoon and the Food Processing Development Centre in Leduc, Alberta. The quick and easy access companies have to Government of Canada trade and market development programs also contributes to the success of the Canadian agriculture and agri-food industries.

A Climate for Growth

In 1989, Nisshin Seifun Group Inc. of Japan purchased Rogers Foods Ltd., a flour and cereal mill situated in British Columbia's North Okanagan Valley. Nisshin recently invested more than $20 million to double its capacity to take advantage of domestic markets, as well as exciting new market opportunities in the United States. With demand growing for its products, Rogers Foods is building a new, 12,000-square-metre mill in Chilliwack that will process 250 tonnes of grain daily.

“Besides the advantage of excellent road and rail transportation corridors, we selected Chilliwack because of the community's commitment to agriculture and agricultural infrastructure. The support provided by the city through Chilliwack Economic Partners Corporation and the Mayor's Office was also a factor in deciding that we should become long term members of the Chilliwack business community.” — Vic Bell, President, Rogers Foods.

 

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Date Modified: 2009-11-12

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