Nobody should be taking Manitoba’s food processing industry lightly, says a prominent economist.
It’s why the province is Canada’s most economically stable jurisdiction and why it kept performing in 2008-09 when other provinces stumbled.
“That’s actually the most stable part of the economy,” Conference Board of Canada chief economist Glen Hodgson told the CropConnect conference Feb. 9.
“I would argue that the bigger the agri-food sector in Manitoba the better because it’s part of what steered you through the financial crisis and recession without actually contracting.”
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Food processing provides stable growth because people keep eating, he added
Hodgson will soon present a Manitoba economic outlook for the provincial Chambers of Commerce but gave a sneak peak to farmers at CropConnect. It was a cheery presentation.
“Frankly, it’s all good,” said Hodgson. “We see little boomlets happening (in areas like construction).”
Hodgson said the lower Canadian dollar and lower commodity prices help manufacturing businesses export to the U.S. market, and the U.S. economy’s continued recovery is boosting demand.
That should result in Manitoba’s economy being the strongest in North America with about three percent growth.
He thinks the commodity super cycle is over. World food demand is still growing faster than global food production growth, so crop and meat demand growth should continue.
“We have a race between population growth globally and food growth,” he said.
“As long as that race is on, there will be a floor under agriculture prices.”
ed.white@producer.com
