Analysts at EastFruit highlight a surprising fact: the cold northern country of Canada is among the fastest-growing exporters of fruits and vegetables globally. Each year, Canada increases its export of fresh vegetables and fruits by 9.2%, outpacing the growth of exports from Morocco. Additionally, the revenue of Canadian exporters rises by an impressive $305 million USD annually.
To put this into perspective, the entire fruit and vegetable export from Ukraine before the full-scale invasion by Russian forces was roughly equivalent to Canada’s annual increase in exports. Meanwhile, the total volume of Canadian fruit and vegetable exports is 12 times greater than that of Ukraine, reaching $3.9 billion USD by the end of 2023. This figure is approximately 4.5 times more than the fruit and vegetable exports from Uzbekistan.
Read also: Egypt more than doubles fruit and veg exports to Canada in 2023
In relative terms, the growth rate of Canada’s fruit and vegetable exports over the past five years is surpassed only by countries like Egypt (11.7%) and Peru (10.5%). It is worth noting that Thailand was not included in the ranking, as its high export growth is primarily due to durian exports to China, which is not very indicative.
What makes Canada so successful in fruit and vegetable exports, and which products contribute to this impressive growth?
“The foundation of Canadian exporters’ success lies in the free trade zone with the world’s largest market for fruits and vegetables – the USA. Another crucial factor is the availability of high-quality water resources and inexpensive electricity produced by hydroelectric power plants. Most importantly, Canada’s greenhouse complexes are exceptionally efficient, ensuring both high product quality and some of the highest yield rates in the world,” explains Andriy Yarmak, an economist in the investment department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
It is not surprising that the main export items in Canada’s fruit and vegetable sector are greenhouse vegetables. Canada earns half a billion dollars from the export of greenhouse cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes. There is also significant export of frozen wild berries, primarily blueberries, and commercial potatoes. While the concentration on a single large market might seem like a weak point for Canadian exports, this market has been one of the most stable and predictable in the world for many years. However, the rhetoric of some U.S. presidential candidates has recently caused Canadian exporters more concern than usual.
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