Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
Organic Production System Task Force (OTF)

Canadian General Standards Board - National Standard

Canadian Organic Growers - Certified Organic Production in Canada
2005 organic statistics [PDF format]
2004 organic statistics [PDF format]

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"Certified Organic" The Status of the
Canadian Organic Market in 2003

Overview

Today the organic food market is described by industry analysts as the most dynamic and rapidly growing sector of the global food industry - what was once a small scale niche market is now a $23 billion global enterprise. In Canada there has been a small but increasing organic agriculture sector since the early eighties and recent years have seen dramatic growth in the organic food market with organic food consumption developing at a faster rate than production.

National governments, including Canada's major trading partners, have developed mandatory regulations defining production standards and labelling requirements for products traded as"Organic". The organic sector in Canada has identified the need for a mandatory regulation at the federal level to support the continued development of the industry and to facilitate trade. The intent of this report is to provide a baseline description of the current status of the organic market in Canada in order to measure the impact of the proposed regulation. The baseline information provided will also be useful to the organic industry as it attempts to measure its progress in achieving the objectives outlined in the National Strategic Plan for the Canadian Organic Food and Farming Sector.

The Status of the Canadian Organic Market in 2003 [1.46 Mb - PDF format]

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Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick
Quebec
Ontario
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Alberta
British Columbia
Canada

Table of Contents

1. Certified Organic Production in Canada

• Number of "Certified Organic" Farms and Farm Size
• Acreage in Organic Production and Farm Gate Value
• Vegetable and Herb Production
• Fruit and Nut Production
• Grains and Oilseeds
• Forages, Green Manures and other land use
• Maple syrup
• Certified Livestock Operations
• Beef and Dairy Cattle, Sheep, Pigs
• Poultry and Egg Production
• Processing and Handling of Certified Organic products

2. Domestic Sales of Organic Products

• Quantity and Value of Organic Products at Canadian Retail
• Number of stores in Canada retailing Organic Products
• Comparison of Domestic and Imported products at Retail

3. Exports of Organic Products

4. Imports of Organic Products

Appendix

• Canadian Organic Certification Organizations and Institutions Providing Data
• Organic Associations & Regional Networks - Not Certifying

For further information, please contact Doug Peters at
613-759-6231, or by e-mail at petersd@agr.gc.ca