Earlier this year, the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA) commissioned a study on the economic contribution of agricultural and agri-food exports to the Canadian economy.

This study sought to evaluate how the agricultural and agri-food export market impacts the Canadian job market; the value that CAFTA’s members contribute to the economy, and how agriculture and agri-food compares to other export sectors.

The highlights of the study are summarized below. Click here to view the full report.

Overall contribution to the Canadian economy

Dependence on exports

1. 90% of all Canadian farms rely on exports, 80% of commercially-oriented farms.
2. Estimated equivalents of 65% of the cultivated area and 40% of pasture land in Canada are exported by the agricultural and food processing sectors.

Jobs

1. 130,000 jobs depend on agricultural exports
2. 182,000 jobs depend on food and beverage manufacturing exports
3. CAFTA’s members represent 352,000 direct jobs in agriculture, food and beverage manufacturing combined.
4. CAFTA’s members represent 352,000 direct and indirect jobs in agriculture, along with 588,000 direct and indirect jobs in food and beverage manufacturing.

Impact on the GDP

1. CAFTA’s members represent about two-thirds of the direct agri-food GDP (agriculture, food and beverage manufacturing) with a direct GDP worth more than 34 billion dollars.
2. CAFTA’s members generated a direct and indirect GDP worth 30.5 billion dollars for agriculture and 65.5 billion dollars for food and beverage manufacturing.
3. 33% of the agriculture value-added is directly attributable to exports.
4. 22% of food and beverage manufacturing value-added is directly attributable