Although Canada does not have the appropriate climate for growing coffee, Canadian-based firms do import raw materials for processing and resale into domestic and export markets. Coffee manufactured for retail and food service markets has been an important component of food and beverage processing in the country for many years.
Coffee is believed to have arrived in North America in 1607 and has been enjoyed by North Americans for centuries. However the first reference to coffee being drunk in North America was in 1668. With 14 billion cups consumed in Canada every year, coffee is the most popular hot beverage and the number-one food service beverage in Canada
Industry structure
The tea and coffee industry represented 1.1% of the total value of
food and beverage sales of goods manufactured and 0.9% of manufacturing
employment in the sector in 2008.
In 2008, 112 establishments (plants)
in the tea and coffee industry shipped $917 million worth of product
and employed 2240 people. Canadian tea and coffee exports totalled
$251.2 million in 2008 (Figure 1). The Canadian market absorbed the
remaining $666 million in domestic shipments and a volume of imports
worth $785.2 million. This industry continues to be a net importer.
Measured by volume (hectoliters), sales of coffee accounted for about
16% of all non-alcoholic beverage sales in 2008, according to Beverage
Marketing Corporation (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Share of Non-Alcoholic Beverage Market by Volume, 2008
There is a strong multinational presence in the coffee industry with some firms offering both tea and coffee products. Multinational enterprises (MNEs) have contributed to the growth of both imports and exports as their Canadian plants have focused on areas where they have competitive advantages on a regional basis in both the U.S. and Canadian markets or in production flexibility. Canadian plants produce commonly known brands for the Canadian or North American markets, while benefiting from the marketing strengths of their parent MNE firms. They often have product mandates for
"mainstream"products, as well as for value-added short-run production of less popular lines. Such mandates can build exports. At the same time, the need to fill product offerings in the Canadian market can increase imports.
Similarly, many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have rationalized and focussed their operations to remain competitive. These strategies involve the development of specialty products for market niches, such as organic or fairly traded products. In some cases SMEs also co-pack brand name products for MNEs, produce private-label products, or make products for use by food service operations such as coffee-themed restaurants.
Fairly Traded Products
While coffee was the first agricultural product to be certified fair trade in 1988, many other products, including tea, are among the wide variety of agricultural and handcrafted goods produced within a system of exchange that seeks to create greater equity and partnership among its members.Farmers and workers within the fair trade system are guaranteed a minimum price for their products and work under safe conditions. Challenges to further growth include lack of infrastructure, capacity and financing at the cooperative level, limited consumer demand in North America, and quality issues. In 2008, more than 5.0 million kilograms of labelled fairly traded coffee were sold in Canada.
Fairly traded coffee is available at retail and, in the case of food service, in cafés in Canada. There is a small but growing specialty market among consumers who are concerned about the ethics of traditional coffee production and harvesting practices in developing countries. In Canada and in other developed countries, these consumers are willing to pay a premium for fairly traded products.
I found this article at:
http://www4.agr.gc.ca/AAFC-AAC/display-afficher.do?id=1172237152079&lang=eng
The highlighted areas are the parts I think we could use.
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