Agri-food in Canada: GDP and jobs

Agri-food in Canada is one of the sectoral priorities of Export Development Canada (EDC), a government finance corporation that supports Canadian businesses.

It is clear that agri-food has long been one of the strengths of the Canadian economy, with many innovative companies and farmers.

The sector includes a wide variety of products and activities, from fishing, farming and agriculture to transportation, processing and retailing.

To situate on this issue: agri-food accounts for almost 7% of Canada’s GDP and 2.1 million Canadian jobs.

As the world’s population grows, the demand for safe, nutritious, high-quality food will only increase.

Already Canada is the world’s fifth largest food exporter and EDC sees ample room to increase agri-food exports.

Canada’s agri-food exports amount to some $83 billion. And EDC’s ambition is to increase that amount significantly.

To achieve this, EDC says its teams and experts will work closely with partners to focus on customer needs.

Often, agri-food companies that want to export don’t know who to talk to or how to get started.

EDC can help with country information, advice, introductions and connections through its partners, and once companies have secured a market and customers, EDC can offer financial solutions to increase their capacity.

Agri-food in Canada

EDC’s strategy focuses on the entire value chain and leverages the network to enable and accelerate Canada’s agricultural trade.

In 2022, as EDC laid out plans to accelerate its support for the sector, it served more than 1,800 clients -8% more than in 2021- and facilitated more than $14 billion in business, 18% more.

Through its targeted connections program, it facilitates nearly 200 introductions between Canadian agri-food exporters and its international network of buyers, and 16 exporters secured more than 40 contracts.

If EDC can help companies reach their potential in expanding agri-food exports, it can make a significant impact for Canada, in the form of direct and indirect jobs, and help feed the world.