An industry leader says both sectors poised to provide solutions to critical issues if the appropriate policies are in place
The agriculture and forestry sectors have a lot in common and should be working together on common goals, says an industry leader. Derek Nighbor, president of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC), said both industries are strongly grounded in rural Canada and both share unique opportunities that are timely in the current environment. “As […] Read moreTag Archives food
Conagra warns of dour profits
In Brief (Reuters) — Conagra Brands Inc. has forecast annual sales and profit below Wall Street estimates in a sign that the packaged food giant was facing resistance to higher prices from inflation-weary customers. Persistent inflation has eroded budgets in many households and forced consumers to trade down from branded packaged food products to cheaper […] Read more
Grocery sector needs competition
The Competition Bureau’s call for increased competition in the Canadian grocery sector is stating the obvious. Canada is home to numerous oligopolies that dominate various industries. For example, five major players in the grocery sector control nearly 80 percent of the food retail market. While some oligopolies function more effectively, their success depends on the […] Read more
CFIN announces funding for food sector projects
The Canadian Food Innovation Network has chosen the funding recipients of its Food Innovation Challenge and Innovation Booster programs. On May 31, CFIN announced that Gastronomous Technologies Inc. will receive $1,919,655 for its project called Smart Kitchens, the largest sum of funding between five recipients in the programs. Laboratoire Innodal Inc. will receive $943,592 for […] Read more
Soaring global food prices spark social unrest
War in Ukraine exacerbates existing supply chain problems, rising inflation and record debt triggered by COVID pandemic
Food price inflation is higher than it was during the Arab Spring revolts in the early 2010s. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index averaged 159.3 points in March 2022, up 13 percent from February and the highest level since its inception in 1990. It is well above the levels that existed […] Read more
Buoyant global economic growth expected
A 5.5 percent increase in global gross domestic product is predicted for this year, despite a resurgence in COVID-19 cases
Export Development Canada is forecasting another strong year of global economic growth in 2022. It predicts a 5.5 percent increase in global gross domestic product, down slightly from six percent in 2021. That is despite the Omicron-related resurgence in the COVID-19 pandemic. “The trajectory of the global economy seems to have decoupled from the trajectory […] Read more
Consumers are cheap, but they’re willing to eat local foods – if it’s easy
Consumers want to buy locally-produced food – but for most people it has to be cheap and easy to find. It has to be really easy to find. And as cheap as non-local food. Those, to me, are the most apparent insights from a major survey of consumers recently conducted by Sylvain Charlebois and colleagues […] Read more
Will the COVID crisis cause a food revolution?
Innovative technologies are waiting on the shelf, but will they finally be embraced?
There’s been lots of blather about exciting food and agriculture industry technological innovations. “Smart” everything has been talked about for more than a decade. My newspaper has published dozens of stories about the possibilities of blockchain. The “internet of things” is a term buzzing away at every farm and ag conference out there. But it’s […] Read more
Don’t take farming and food for granted says U of C report
Canadians and Canada’s governments shouldn’t take farming and food for granted. That’s the bottom line of a June 9 report from the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy. “Food security in Canada is not something to be taken for granted and government policy action must reflect the essential service agriculture provides for our nation,” […] Read more
Don’t expect too much, no matter what happens with Meng
Whatever happens Wednesday, China will not be a market we can count on again
Tomorrow (Wednesday) a B.C. Supreme Court judge will release the ruling on whether or not to uphold the validity of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou’s arrest and detention on a U.S. extradition request. A lot of people are hoping Meng gets released, goes back to China, that China calms down, the two Michaels are released and […] Read more
