SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Getting together and staying Canadian could be key to future canola success, an agricultural economist told the Canola Council of Canada annual convention.
It could allow the canola industry to leap into the consumer sweet spot that olive oil so successfully occupies.
“Is it possible for us to consciously leverage our collective capabilities to build a high value product that is only available (from) Canada?” said Vincent Amanor-Boadu of Iowa State University, who is also the former head of research for the George Morris Centre in Guelph, Ont.
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“Can we do something that would allow us to put the story of the Maple Leaf on this?”
Amanor-Boadu said the olive oil industry managed to vault itself above other oils by obtaining foodie and celebrity endorsements, such as Rachael Ray’s EVOO olive oil brand.
Canola oil is now mostly a bulk commodity but it could transform itself into a specialty product, he added.
“I think there is an opportunity for us in this industry to take on the rest of the food oil market and by telling about our ratios instead of just our numbers,” said Amanor-Boadu.
People in the canola industry should make sure to work together to develop the overall canola market rather than just their own products.
“We cannot take the relationships we’ve developed for granted,” he said.
