Canada gains ground in food processing expansions A Period of Consolidation What Factors Go Into Investment Decisions? Scattered U.S. Activity Canada: A Vigorous Market Europe: Growth East and West Request Information |
Canada: A Vigorous Market
In Port Colborne, Ontario, Jungbunzlauer (JBL), a Swiss company and one of the world's largest citric acid producers, is investing $120 million in a new plant that will employee up to 120 people by 2002. JBL signed a long-term supply agreement with Casco Inc., Canada's principal producer and supplier of corn products, which buys about 25 percent of Ontario's corn crop. The Toronto area boasts the fastest growing food and beverage manufacturing cluster in North America, according to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. In 1999, U.S. companies invested $560 million in Ontario's food industry, while European companies invested another $224 million. Canadian firms are also increasing their investment activity. Sleeman Brewery, for instance, is expanding its Guelph brewery facility, adding a new canning line as a result of adding the Stroh's "Old Milwaukee" brand to its beer line. Another Canadian hub for food processing is Alberta, which has nearly 20,000 food and beverage workers in more than 500 companies in urban and rural areas of the province. The largest contributor to the industry is the meatpacking and processing sector -- beef, pork, lamb and processed meat products -- which together account for more than 48 percent of total Alberta food processing shipments. Other sectors include beverages, dairy, feed, processed vegetables, baked goods and poultry. Allan Pelletier, development officer for Agri-Food Development in Edmonton, says Alberta's attractions to manufacturers include one of the lowest tax structures in Canada, low-cost industrial and residential real estate, competitive trucking rates, and electrical and natural gas rates that are some of the lowest in North America.
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