Good news for organic growers - Consumer demand for organic food continuous to grow
Consumers are increasingly demanding organic food that is produced locally. The desire to eat healthy and to encourage local grown food is a great underlying trend. More and more people are turning to family farmers, urban agriculture and organic food in general.
Thanks to Canada’s hardworking organic farmers, the organic food industry is one of Canada’s fastest growing agriculture sector. The organic food market is estimated at $4.4 billion in 2017. For comparison, in 2012 it was $2.8 billion. The growth rate for the organic food market is estimated 8.4%.
Greenhouse vegetable type farms accounted for the greatest increase in the proportion of organic farms. Their proportion increased from 13.4% of farms in 2011 to 16.7%. Québec takes the lead in organic farming. With an increase in the number of organic farms by 22.3%, from 1,037 farms in 2011 to 1,268 farms in 2016, Quebec has the highest number of organic farms in Canada in 2016.
Growing opportunity through innovation in agriculture, 2017, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/95-640-x/2016001/article/14816-eng.htm