Canada’s food manufacturing industry facing uphill battle: CIBC
by Canadian Manufacturing Staff
Industry "will have to nurture its export markets in search of growth," CIBC report says
TORONTO—A new manufacturing sector may be “rising from the ashes” in Canada, but food makers in the country will have to fight a little harder than the rest to achieve growth, according to a new report.
While Canadian manufacturing is poised for a resurgence in the near future, the CIBC report suggests the food industry will have a tougher road to growth given its relative strength post-recession.
The report puts food manufacturing near the bottom of the pack in its ranking of industries with the brightest growth prospects, ahead of only chemicals, non-metallic minerals, beverage and tobacco and petroleum and coal production in the country.
“It will have to nurture its export markets in search of growth,” the report says of the food industry here.
Food ranked 16th overall out of 20 industries, and fared poorly in four of six categories examined—productivity growth, net export, import penetration and labour share total production costs.
The industry only increased its productivity by two per cent since 2009, according to CIBC.
It ranked near the middle of the pack in the remaining two categories, placing sixth for its export penetration, and ninth for capacity as a share of the long-term average.
