Ag and agri-food in Canada continues to grow: report

Ottawa – Canada’s agricultural sector continues to contribute to the country’s economic growth, says a report.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) released its annual report, An Overview of the Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food System, which provides a summary of how the sector contributes to the economy and how the sector is evolving.

In a statement, AAFC says in 2016 agriculture in Canada “maintained its position as a key driver of the Canadian economy, generating $111.9 billion of GDP.”

In 2016, the sector had 2.3 million people employed and had achieved “values of $62.6 billion for agriculture, agri-food and seafood exports.”

Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector consists of input suppliers, primary producers (farmers), food and beverage processors, food retailers and wholesalers, and foodservice providers.

The AAFC says it expects the sector to reach its 2017 budget goal and produce $75 billion in agri-food exports by 2025.

The report includes a special feature on Trends in Canadian Agriculture in honour of the country’s 150th anniversary. And there’s also a special feature on Bioproduct Production and Development in Canada, which is a growing sector.

The food and beverage processing industry is the largest manufacturing industry in Canada, accounting for the largest share (16.4%) of the total manufacturing sector’s in GDP in 2016, says AAFC in the statement. It also accounted for the largest share (17.3%) of jobs in the manufacturing sector during the same year.