Canadian farmers return to growing vegetables, fruits as low loonie lifts prices

WINNIPEG/CALGARY – Canadian farmers are cashing in around the highest vegetable prices in years, helped through the country’s weak currency and soaring costs of U.S. imports which have renedered them unexpected winners inside a bearish commodity world.

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Soft wheat and canola prices may diminish Canadian farm incomes by 9 percent this year. But it is the very best of times for carrot and beet growers, a part of a distinct segment industry best-known for stocking farmers’ markets.

“Per acre, there’s nothing that can compare with it right now,” said Sam Hofer, who grows carrots at Dinsmore, Saskatchewan. “You can make good pocket money off 50 acres (20 hectares) of land.”

At Emile Marquette’s farm near Perigord, Saskatchewan, his 20 acres of beets would bring 10 times more net gain per acre than canola. That’s due to beets’ higher output per acre in addition to sky-rocketing prices.

The year ahead looks to have “huge potential,” Marquette said.

Fresh vegetable and fruit prices jumped 18 and 13 per cent respectively in January annually, statistically Canada.

The price of imported U.S. produce has spiked because the Canadian dollar, now trading around 74 U.S. cents, fell 16 percent this past year. Excessive rain in some U.S. regions has added costs.

Marquette is part of a grower group that sells vegetables to Saskatchewan-based Federated Co-operatives Limited. The growers and co-op set price increases for 2016 of five to 10 % on local produce that already fetches a premium.

It is a modest top-up, given store prices, but Marquette said farmers want to nurture demand.

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Marquette is expanding beet plantings by one-third, or five acres, claiming much more of his canola field.

Vegetable plantings in Saskatchewan may grow by up to 10 per cent this season, said Bob Purton, president of Saskatchewan Vegetable Growers’ Association.

Purton sells his tomatoes and cucumbers to farmers’ markets and expects the best prices of his 15 years growing vegetables.

In Alberta, carrots’ value topped $5.4 million last year, the highest since 1997.



In Ontario, demand should increase for Canadian apples, peaches and berries from retailers including Loblaw Companies Ltd, Sobeys Inc, Wal Mart Stores Inc and Metro Inc, said John Kelly, executive vice-president of Ontario Vegetable and fruit Growers Association.

The low Canadian dollar could also spur fruit exports to the Usa, he explained.

Federated Co-op has steadily bought more from Saskatchewan farmers in recent years. However the dollar’s slump has added to the urgency, said Mike Furi, manager of procurement and pricing at Federated’s subsidiary, The Grocery People.

Canada’s second-largest grocery chain Sobeys said it can also be buying more from Canadian farmers. Sobeys is hiring four “local developers” in Alberta and British Columbia, whose mission is to find local farmers and vendors.

High grocery prices have ebbed, but another shock might be available, Furi said.

Excessive rains and fluctuating temperatures in California and Florida may tighten supplies of celery, cauliflower and cabbage in March and April, spurring more interest in Canadian produce, Furi said.

“As much as they can grow, we can take.”

? Thomson Reuters 2017