Canada’s food industry lagging in innovation
Canadian manufacturers have lost ground in export markets
Canada’s food industry is lagging behind global competitors, according to a report by the Conference Board of Canada for the Centre for Food in Canada. When asked what will determine business success over the next five years, about a third of respondents said that process or product innovation will be important or very important, while only a quarter of respondents said the same about input innovation. Research intensity in food manufacturing as a share of gross domestic product is lower (.7 percent) than that of either the business (1.38 percent) or general manufacturing (4.55 percent) sectors. Meanwhile, Canada has lost ground in global food and beverage export markets. Between 2000 and 2010, Canada’s share of global food and beverage exports fell from 4.2 to 3.2 percent before recovering slightly to 3.9 percent in 2011. Read the full report here.