A separate venture capital fund will be established and managed independently of Protein Industries Canada
The acting president of Protein Industries Canada says financial support should begin flowing to PIC-endorsed projects before the end of the year.
Ron Styles told an audience in Saskatoon May 3 that PIC — an industry led alliance of private-sector companies, researchers, academic institutions and other industry stakeholders — is still in its formative stages.
However, PIC organizers are hoping to have their administrative infrastructure in place shortly and should be in a position to identify their first investment opportunities this fall, he added.
PIC was one of five groups to submit a successful application under Ottawa’s $950 million innovation superclusters program.
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PIC learned in February that it had been awarded $153 million through the federal program.
The money will be used to identify and develop economic opportunities in the plant-based protein industry.
“We’re in the process right now of … trying to transition PIC into an … (organization) with feet on the ground and processes that we can (use) … to develop an investment ecosystem …,” Styles said.
He said the concept of generating extra value from common field crops such as canola and field peas is supported by three prevalent trends: global population growth, a heightened emphasis on healthy lifestyles and the emergence of middle-class spending habits in Asia.
Consumers in Asia “have extra disposable income and they want to spend it on something,” he said.
“They want to spend it on protein.”
Styles said the prairie provinces already have a “dynamic research culture” that’s deeply invested in the agriculture and agri-food industries.
The logistics of shipping value-added products processed on the Prairies as opposed to shipping lower-value bulk commodities makes sense, he said.
“Rather than trying to drive our bulk commodities at lower prices to compete out there in the world … why not start to pick up new demand (for plant-based protein) so you can actually get … better margins from it?”
Styles said new markets for plant-based protein are emerging at home and around the world.
The domestic fish industry is an example.
The Canadian aquaculture industry drives significant economic activity in Atlantic Canada and on the country’s West Coast, he said.
But the industry depends heavily on high-quality soybean protein and imports about 70,000 tonnes of it from the United States.
“If we can get our protein numbers up a little bit, maybe we can take some of the canola meal that we’re selling into the U.S. market for cattle … and we can take it from being an $80 or $100 a tonne product to an $800 a tonne product.”
PIC has conditional co-investment commitments from private-sector partners valued at about $219 million, Styles said.
An additional $150 million has been committed through venture capital.
Styles said a separate venture capital fund that provides support to PIC-endorsed projects will be established and managed independently of Protein Industries Canada.
All told, the pool of funds available for deployment could be as high as $720 million.
Styles said PIC envisions a system that could see successful PIC project applicants receive 25 to 30 cents for every dollar that’s invested.
