According to the latest study conducted by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL and IFOAM - Organics International - the Canadian organic sector continues to register significant growth despite the fact that the overall agricultural land base remains stable and non-organic agricultural operations are declining. Now there are more than 6,000 certified organic operations, almost 4,800 certified organic producers and 1.27 million certified organic hectares (including wild collections).
Between 2011 and 2017, organic farmland increased by more than 45 percent, while total agricultural land remained stable with a one percent decrease. Organic producers are flourishing, while the total number of farms has declined in Canada. There are more organic farms operating and more acres devoted to this kind of production than ever in Canada.
According to the report on organic processing in Canada, there are 1,118 organic food processing companies in that country.
Organic processed foods and beverages sales amounted to an estimated 2.5 billion Canadian dollars (approximately 1.7 million euro) in 2017.
According to interviews with the main organic food processors in Canada, most companies are experiencing year-on-year growth of more than 10%. Regionally, most of these operations are carried out in provinces with more mature organic markets, such as Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia.
The five main challenges for the organic food processing sector (in order of importance) are access to capital, sourcing ingredients, the costs of ingredients, technical sourcing expertise, and sourcing ingredients near the manufacturing facilities.
The market: consumption
At the end of 2017, the Organic Trade Association of Canada published the second Canadian Organic Market Report. This publication offers, in depth, a more up-to-date view of the Canadian organic market, combining consumer research with sales and business data to provide valuable information about the size of the market, growth trends, and the perceptions of Canadian consumers.
According to estimates, Canada's total organic market (including non-food organic products) has reached Can $ 5.4 billion, compared to Can $ 3.5 billion in 2012, with an 8.7 percent compound annual growth rate.
In the same period, the market share of organic foods and beverages, which are sold through traditional retailers, has increased from 1.7 percent to 2.6 percent.
Another study on the inclusion of organic foods and beverages in the foodservice sector provides new details on the growth of organic products in restaurants, cafés, public institutions, and the travel and leisure sector.
The findings show that travel and leisure, which includes planes, trains, cinemas and more, are key spaces for organic growth. The proliferation of organic products has also occurred in other areas, such as high-end restaurants and fast informal restaurants, but at a slower pace. The integration of organic products within public institutions (eg, hospitals, schools, universities) has been markedly lower than in other food service sectors, but it is promising to move forward.
New regulatory framework for organic products
The Safe Food for Canadians Act was approved in 2012. This Law sought to bring together 14 different rules within the regulatory regime and harmonize them into a single Law. The organic regulations were included in this modernization process.
The Food Safety for Canadians Regulations, which detail the final changes in Chapter 14 of the Organic Regulation, were published in June 2017. The Organic Regulation will cease to exist as of January 15, 2019, when the final law on food safety enters into force.
Several changes are anticipated as a result of this regulatory update, but most notably, Canada will be one of the first countries in the world to regulate organic aquaculture products at the federal level by incorporating the voluntary aquaculture standard, CGSB 32,312, into the Organic Regime of Canada.
Source: SimFRUIT