Canadian Market Overview

Register for this webinar to hear from Evan Mangino, Agricultural Attaché, Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA, Ottawa, Ontario. Mr Mangino's presentation will cover the following:

• The current business environment & Canada's response to the COVID-19 crisis
• How/if the market is changing
• Opportunities for U.S. companies - what is in demand
• Export process - distribution channels and logistics
• Key considerations when exporting to Canada

In 2019, Canada continued to be U.S. growers and processors number one export market for consumer-oriented products reaching USD $16.1 billion in sales. As a stable and mature market with a sophisticated logistics network, Canada offers promising prospects for new-to-export and new-to-market firms, making it a natural international venture for U.S. companies. Last year, Canada’s retail market for food and non-alcohol beverages amounted to $97 billion and its food service sector totaled $70 billion.

However, with the current COVID-19 pandemic, the food service sector in Canada has been hit with 800,000 jobs loss, and an estimate USD $14.3 billion loss in revenues. With Canadians mandated to stay at home during this period, grocery sales have catapulted by 12% in March from the same period in 2019. Convenience and/or specialty items have been replaced with preferred essential items, such as pasta, rice, and canned goods. The U.S. accounts for a 58% share of the retail market and while Canadian consumer behavior has shifted, it is likely the market will continue to rely on imported products to fill their store shelves. 

Evan Mangino is the Agricultural Attaché in the Office of Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Embassy to Canada. A New Jersey native and returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Evan has been with the U.S. Department of Agriculture since 2007. He has served American farmers in a number of positions at USDA, most recently as the Agricultural Attaché and Agricultural Trade Office Deputy Director in Tokyo, Japan. Evan is a graduate of Middlebury College and of Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. Evan arrived in Ottawa in August 2017 with his two children, Beatrice (8) and James (5), and his partner Kathryn, an international development practitioner and writer.