Features Production Research
B.C. survey shows agri-business steady

March 23, 2009, Abbotsford, B.C. – A stable local economy based on
agriculture is the key finding of a new report released recently by
B.C. Agriculture and Lands Minister Ron Cantelon.

March 23, 2009, Abbotsford, B.C. – A stable local economy based on agriculture is the key finding of a new report released recently by B.C. Agriculture and Lands Minister Ron Cantelon.

The report shows that agriculture in Abbotsford provides 11,300 full time jobs with one in every four private sector jobs being supported by the agriculture sector. The farming community also generates $1.8 billion in annual expenditures within the local economy.

Farm-based jobs, including wages paid to family members, average over $28,000 per year and agri-business jobs average $49,000 per year. The farm workforce has changed from what is often perceived as low paid seasonal work to more full time work at competitive wage rates.

With $557 million in farm gate sales, Abbotsford boasts the highest farm gate sales in British Columbia and the largest farm gate sales per hectare in Canada. The value added of processing food grown in Abbotsford is approximately $128 million.

The ministry worked closely with the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce to conduct a survey that would estimate the economic impact of agriculture on B.C.’s fifth largest community, which is the hub of agri-business in the Fraser Valley.

The data for The Economic Impact of Agriculture in Abbotsford was collected from sources, including BC Stats, the Statistics Canada Census of Agriculture and information resulting from a local survey of the Abbotsford agri-business/value-added sector.

The full report is available on the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands website at http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/resmgmt/sf/Publications.htm#other or on the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce website at http://www.abbotsfordchamber.com/.