Opinion: Prairie agriculture on a collision course with shipping containers in B.C.
Reg Ens
4/8/2021
Hard-working farmers and food producers in the Prairies aren’t just feeding Canadians — they’re feeding the world. Because Canada enjoys favourable conditions for food production that far exceed the needs of our population, our agri-food sector is primarily export-oriented.
Hard-working farmers and food producers in the Prairies aren’t just feeding Canadians — they’re feeding the world. Because Canada enjoys favourable conditions for food production that far exceed the needs of our population, our agri-food sector is primarily export-oriented.
© Provided by Leader Post
Canola exports have been a bright spot in the pandemic economy.
In fact, according to the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, Canada is the fifth-largest exporter of agricultural and agri-food products in the world after the EU, U.S., Brazil and China. C anada exports $56 billion a year in agriculture and agri-food products, and approximately half of everything we produce is exported as either primary commodities or processed food and beverage products.
Western Canada shares a common food production system that is meeting local, national and global needs, serving people who only want more of what we have to offer. That demand continues to grow through the storm of the pandemic. It’s a beacon of light signalling the potential of our sector, and a golden opportunity to drive Canada’s economic recovery.
As a member of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, I can tell you that our country’s agriculture and food producers have displayed incredible resilience under the stress of the pandemic, as farmers continue to put food on our collective table. What’s more, producers are not only keeping our grocery stores full, but they are exporting at record levels in response to the world’s food security concerns.
In the Prairies, spring 2020 exports of bulk grains, oilseeds and pulses (like beans and lentils) were up nearly 30 per cent over the previous year. Canola from Saskatchewan and Manitoba was a star commodity, with exports jumping 37 per cent in the first eight months of 2020. It’s remarkable, during a time of unprecedented disruption, that Canada produced record food volumes. Our supply chains also delivered.
But the performance and contribution of Canada’s agriculture sector should not be taken for granted.
There is a growing supply chain conflict on the West Coast that will affect farmers and producers in both the Prairies and in B.C. Imagine two passing ships, one laden with containers full of consumer goods coming here from Asia, and one carrying agricultural exports from Canada. Except these two metaphorical ships are on a collision course.
The Port of Vancouver — Canada’s largest port — is rapidly running out of industrial land. Vancouver is in a heated competition to attract inbound container traffic. This dynamic is prompting a story that farmers and food producers are all too familiar with. That is: Agriculture is being side-lined as other, presumably more competitive products and commodities, are favoured.
An example of this conflict is taking place on a small parcel of port land on the south shore of Vancouver Harbour, where a family company called West Coast Reduction — which processes and ships agricultural products — is in the crosshairs. This long-time operator services 11,000 customers across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. They handle more than half of the Prairie-farmed canola oil bound for Asia. As well, they are the only facility in Western Canada able to refine feedstocks for biofuel — a service that is critical to meeting our national climate change targets.
The prime minister’s mandate letter to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada spells out a clear directive: “Strengthen local, sustainable and value-added food supply chains in Canada.” We could not agree more, but this will mean tackling the Port of Vancouver’s ambitions to use lands for containers at the expense of food producers.
Government is trumpeting agriculture as an important driver of Canada’s post-pandemic economic recovery. That will mean balancing a diverse set of activities at our country’s largest port.
West Coast Reduction is a textbook example of sustainable local agriculture, and a high-value exporter. They are prepared to invest to accommodate more home-grown exports, but their existence at the Port of Vancouver is threatened by an eviction to make way for container terminal development.
It is time for the federal government to grab hold of the tiller and steer clear of the coming collision that will affect farmers throughout Western Canada.
Reg Ens is executive director of the B.C. Agriculture Council.
In fact, according to the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, Canada is the fifth-largest exporter of agricultural and agri-food products in the world after the EU, U.S., Brazil and China. C anada exports $56 billion a year in agriculture and agri-food products, and approximately half of everything we produce is exported as either primary commodities or processed food and beverage products.
Western Canada shares a common food production system that is meeting local, national and global needs, serving people who only want more of what we have to offer. That demand continues to grow through the storm of the pandemic. It’s a beacon of light signalling the potential of our sector, and a golden opportunity to drive Canada’s economic recovery.
As a member of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, I can tell you that our country’s agriculture and food producers have displayed incredible resilience under the stress of the pandemic, as farmers continue to put food on our collective table. What’s more, producers are not only keeping our grocery stores full, but they are exporting at record levels in response to the world’s food security concerns.
In the Prairies, spring 2020 exports of bulk grains, oilseeds and pulses (like beans and lentils) were up nearly 30 per cent over the previous year. Canola from Saskatchewan and Manitoba was a star commodity, with exports jumping 37 per cent in the first eight months of 2020. It’s remarkable, during a time of unprecedented disruption, that Canada produced record food volumes. Our supply chains also delivered.
But the performance and contribution of Canada’s agriculture sector should not be taken for granted.
There is a growing supply chain conflict on the West Coast that will affect farmers and producers in both the Prairies and in B.C. Imagine two passing ships, one laden with containers full of consumer goods coming here from Asia, and one carrying agricultural exports from Canada. Except these two metaphorical ships are on a collision course.
The Port of Vancouver — Canada’s largest port — is rapidly running out of industrial land. Vancouver is in a heated competition to attract inbound container traffic. This dynamic is prompting a story that farmers and food producers are all too familiar with. That is: Agriculture is being side-lined as other, presumably more competitive products and commodities, are favoured.
An example of this conflict is taking place on a small parcel of port land on the south shore of Vancouver Harbour, where a family company called West Coast Reduction — which processes and ships agricultural products — is in the crosshairs. This long-time operator services 11,000 customers across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. They handle more than half of the Prairie-farmed canola oil bound for Asia. As well, they are the only facility in Western Canada able to refine feedstocks for biofuel — a service that is critical to meeting our national climate change targets.
The prime minister’s mandate letter to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada spells out a clear directive: “Strengthen local, sustainable and value-added food supply chains in Canada.” We could not agree more, but this will mean tackling the Port of Vancouver’s ambitions to use lands for containers at the expense of food producers.
Government is trumpeting agriculture as an important driver of Canada’s post-pandemic economic recovery. That will mean balancing a diverse set of activities at our country’s largest port.
West Coast Reduction is a textbook example of sustainable local agriculture, and a high-value exporter. They are prepared to invest to accommodate more home-grown exports, but their existence at the Port of Vancouver is threatened by an eviction to make way for container terminal development.
It is time for the federal government to grab hold of the tiller and steer clear of the coming collision that will affect farmers throughout Western Canada.
Reg Ens is executive director of the B.C. Agriculture Council.
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