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St.Louis-based Bunge North America announced plans to increase the capacity at its canola processing plant in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. The proposed project would more than double Fort Saskatchewan's current capacity of 850 metric tons a day. "Expanding and upgrading our capacity in Canada is a natural way to grow Bunge's North American business as domestic and export demand for both canola oil and meal continues to increase," said Soren Schroder, president and CEO of Bunge North America.
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Food manufacturer Dr. Oetker Canada, who's parent company is based in Germany, is expanding into Southwestern Ontario, providing opportunities for Ontario farmers and creating 430 direct and indirect jobs in London. Dr. Oetker Canada is building its first North American frozen pizza production facility in the area. The expansion project will help the company source over 24 million pounds of ingredients from Ontario farmers and food processors and produce about 50 million frozen pizzas per year for the Canadian and U.S markets.
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Bakkavor Foods Canada, an Iceland-based food supplier, announced it will expand its distribution in Ontario and create 50 new jobs in Cobourg. The company is creating a fresh food manufacturing centre for Canadian food retailers. The company has recently introduced its product line to a number of stores in Ontario and says it will continue to expand into 2012.
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Canada and the E.U. have reached an agreement to recognize each other's organic standards and laws, after years of negotiation. In 2009, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the United States Department of Agriculture signed the first "organic equivalency arrangement," which opened the significant U.S. organic market to Canadian exports. The global organic trade is now estimated at over $55 billion per year, with 96% of this represented by the U.S. and EU markets. Canada is now the only country in the world able to deal directly with these two key markets through its domestic standards.
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Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz wrapped up another series of trade missions to advance Canada's agriculture objectives, this time to the first G20 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting, the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the Global Research Alliance Summit. "Our Government is working to ensure that Canada's agriculture industry remains competitive and innovative," said Minister Ritz.
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The economic impact of food in Canada extends far beyond the contribution of just those industries that grow, process and distribute it, according to a report by The Conference Board of Canada. The food sector is directly responsible for generating more than 9% of Canadian GDP. In all, 2.3 million jobs in Canada – approximately 13% of employment — are dependent on the food sector, incorporating businesses as diverse as restaurants, grocery stores, retail shops, distribution services, food manufacturing and primary producers. Most industries in Canada are, to some extent, involved in the process of growing, processing, transporting and distributing food.
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Canada and Russia renewed their commitment to build on the countries strong ties and agreed to continue working together to increase bilateral trade for the benefit of farmers. Over the last three years Russia's annual average imports of livestock and genetics from Canada were worth $26 million in a potential market of $235 million and Russia's interest in Canadian products and expertise keeps growing.
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Mussel exports to the U.S. jumped 10% in 2010, with Canada overtaking New Zealand as the top provider of the mollusk to consumers south of the border. Canadian mussel exports to the U.S. were worth $27.4 million in 2010, up from $26.7 million in 2009. Canada had 47% of the market, compared to New Zealand at 42%. 80% of all mussels in Canada are provided by P.E.I.
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A study by Farm Credit Canada finds the average value of farmland across the country rose by over 5% in 2010, with values in Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island ahead of the six-month curve. The crown agriculture and agrifood lending agency's latest Farmland Values Report, mentions that cash crop producers are leading the buyer activity in farmland, and strong demand with limited supply have made farmland a "hot commodity" due to its historic performance as a stable investment with income-generating potential. Low interest rates have also encouraged buyers to seize opportunities and thus helped support farmland values.
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Kellogg Canada, a unit of Michigan (U.S.) based Kellogg Company, intends to add a new cereal production line at its Belleville, Ontario plant that would create about 40 new jobs for the community. The proposed production line would feature advanced food-manufacturing techniques making the plant among the most sophisticated in Kellogg's worldwide operations.
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ADM Agri-Industries, a subsidiary of U.S. agrifood company Archer Daniels Midland, will double seed receiving and storage capacity at its canola-processing plant in Lloydminster, Alberta. ADM rivals Cargill Inc, Richardson International and Louis Dreyfus all have added canola-crushing capacity in the past two years, while Bunge Ltd is planning to expand a plant in Manitoba.
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Canada and Japan are planning a free trade agreement, with the study of the potential for more liberalized trade. International Trade Minister Peter Van Loan intends to push Canada's plans to boost trade with Japan and trade with India. Canada's agriculture, natural resources and manufacturing products were listed as three sectors that could gain from reduced barriers with Japan. For its part, Japan is keen to get Canada to ditch the 6% duty added to the $5 billion worth of Japanese-made cars it imports every year.
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MonaVie, maker of premier acai based–nutritional products, held a ribbon cutting ceremony announcing the grand opening of its new distribution and pickup center in Burnaby, British Columbia. The new facility now boasts more than 4,000 square feet of warehouse space and 4,300 square feet of office space, including two rooms for distributor meetings and events. MonaVie is headquarted in Utah.
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Cargill it will build a new facility in Alberta's Peace River region to supply farmers with crop inputs by spring 2011. The company, headquarted in Minneapolis, has purchased 40 acres of land for the project. Cargill has recently expanded its grain handling capabilities with the Carseland, Alberta acquisition and its recent crop input facility purchase from Tri-Way Fertilizer in Balcarres, Saskatchewan.
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Multinational agri-food firm Bunge has kicked off plans to expand its processing plants in Western Canada with a project to more than double its canola crush at Altona, Man. Bunge's North American arm announced an expansion project that will see the Altona plant's processing capacity boosted to 2,500 tonnes per day, up from 1,100 currently. The expansion is expected to go on line by harvest time in 2012.
