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AAFC invests $4.4 million to increase market access for Canadian grain

On May 3, Marie-Claude Bibeau, minister of agriculture and agri-food, announced an investment of up to $4.4 million over two years to support three industry organizations in their efforts to grow Canada’s grain exports.

“Canadian grain producers are a key link in global food security. [This] investment will help industry organizations build new relationships in international markets so we can continue to feed a growing global population,” Bibeau said.

With funding provided through the federal AgriMarketing Program, the Government of Canada is supporting the sector by helping the following organizations identify new opportunities for Canadian grain products, including:

• Cereals Canada Inc., based in Winnipeg, which will receive up to $3.52 million to reach international new markets by promoting the high-quality aspects of Canadian wheat and durum wheat.
• Canada Grains Council, based in Ottawa, which will receive up to $461,000 to help increase and diversify Canadian grain exports to international markets and seize domestic market opportunities. The project will focus on reducing the potential impact of technology-related non-tariff trade barriers (NTBs) related to plant breeding innovation for Canadian grain exports.
• The Prairie Oat Growers Association, based in Regina, which will receive up to $417,000 to help increase demand for Canadian oats by promoting the health and environmental benefits, as well as the diverse uses of oats.

Increasing markets for the grain industry contributes to the overall success of Canada’s agriculture sector by benefiting farmers, feeding livestock and the country’s growing population. As the demand for Canadian grain exports continues to increase, it is important to ensure new trade opportunities that help strengthen the value chain.

“The AgriMarketing Program has been an extremely vital component of the Prairie Oat Growers Association’s success to increase demand in international markets. Since 2015, Canada has been able to more than triple its oat exports to Mexico and in 2020 Canada realized the largest oat exports to Japan in years,” said

“The program has led to the incredible value-added growth seen in Western Canadian oat processing and increased demand for Canadian oat growers. As a small organization, none of this work would be possible without the continued funding from AgriMarketing.”