M. Shahbandeh
Research expert covering agriculture & FMCG
Organic food market in Canada- statistics & facts
The need for organic food production emerged as a response to a shift towards the use of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, and livestock feed additives following industrialized agriculture in the 1900s. Since then, demand for organically produced food has continued to rise. In Canada, 2.1 percent of all agricultural land was used for organic farming in 2021. In 2022, the value of the organic food market in Canada amounted to around eight billion Canadian dollars. The number of organic farms in Canada has increased in recent years to exceed 6,900. The province of Quebec produces the highest volume of organic milk of any Canadian province, at over 640 thousand hectoliters in 2021/22.
International trade
In Canada, mandatory certification for agricultural products represented as organic in import, exports, and inter-provincial trade was implemented at the federal level in 2009. The value of organic imports into Canada have almost double since 2012. As of 2021, organic imports were valued at about 860 million Canadian dollars. About 10.7 thousand metric tons of fresh organic apples were imported in 2022/23. Of those apple imports over 90 percent originated from the United States.Consumer market
Foods labeled organic have grown five percent from 2019 to 2022 in Canada, giving it a spot among other quickly growing food labels like non-GMO and high in protein. Only about nine percent of Canadian consumers report never purchasing organic foods, compared to the over 80 percent that purchase organic some of the time or all the time. The Canadian sales value of organic packaged foods is forecast to rise to over 2.43 billion U.S. dollars by 2026, suggesting that organic is not a trend and will continue to grow.
