BC’s agrifood sector rung up revenues of nearly $15 billion in 2018, the province reported on December 13, a 5.2% increase from a year earlier.
“It was an excellent year for agriculture in British Columbia. The hard work of many has led to record results,” BC agriculture minister Lana Popham said in a press release formally announcing the results.
The sector snapshot of BC’s agriculture, seafood and food & beverage processing industry identified BC consumers and companies as the main buyers of BC products, with an estimated $6.4 billion worth of purchases. A comparable for the previous year wasn’t mentioned.
However, the release noted that BC set new record in 2018 with exports of $4.5 billion, or about 10% higher than in 2017. This effectively made it the driver of growing BC agrifood revenues. Sales of BC agrifood products both within BC and elsewhere in Canada grew by less than 3%, based on industry figures.
Within each segment of the agrifood sector, agriculture saw strong growth. Revenues increased by about 8% from last year, stronger than any other segment. However, in actual dollar value, it added just $250 million to its tally. This compared to an additional $410 million in revenues for the food processing sector.
Agriculture ministers discuss concerns