October 23, 2012, Ottawa, Ont – The Canadian government has announced two investments aimed at enhancing the organic food industry’s competitiveness in global and domestic markets.
The Canada Organic Trade Association (COTA) received $180,000 from the AgriMarketing Program to help the association participate in international trade shows, develop promotional materials, and build a long-term international strategy for the organic sector.
The Organic Council of Ontario (OCO) received $152,000 from the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP) to develop tools and technologies that will enable producers to strengthen their relationships with existing customers, attract new investments, and gather business intelligence that will benefit the sector. These tools include new co-op models, community-shared agriculture projects, and online webinars to improve the organic sector’s social and economic sustainability.
The Canadian organic retail market was valued at almost $2 billion in 2008, representing a 66 per cent growth from the $1.2 billion organic retail value in 2006. Since then, the organic market has continued to grow, reaching more than $2.6 billion in 2010. Exports of agri-food products were worth $390 million in 2010.
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