Report says Canada loses billions by shipping raw crops instead of processed goods

Redirecting 10 per cent of Canada's raw crop exports into domestic value-added processing could generate up to $5.4 billion in additional GDP, $7.9 billion in additional food manufacturing output and roughly 34,000 full-time-equivalent jobs, according to a report prepared by Ernst & Young LLP for Protein Industries Canada and finalized in April 2026.

The analysis, released in summary form in September 2026, also projects that such a shift could add up to $1.1 billion in government revenues. Wheat, canola and corn alone account for approximately 70 per cent of Canada's annual crop production, the report said, but too often those crops leave the country before higher-value processing takes place.

The report examined 10 market areas where Canadian agricultural output could support growth through to 2040. Under EY's baseline scenario, the global processed food and beverage market alone is projected to reach US$9.825 trillion, with a Canadian opportunity of US$178.6 billion. Ingredient processing, livestock feed, bio-based intermediates and alternative proteins were also among the sectors modelled.

EY identified six systemic gaps holding Canada back. The country ranked 26th of 38 OECD countries in product-market regulation in 2023–24. Venture capital backs about 40 per cent of Canadian foodtech funding rounds, compared with roughly 60 per cent in the United States and United Kingdom. The report also pointed to transportation constraints across rail, ports and highways, fragmented policy and standards, workforce pressures — with an estimated 30 per cent of the agricultural workforce potentially retiring by 2030 — and a 95 per cent decline in capital funding for agricultural research infrastructure between 1985–86 and 2022–23.

The report recommends Protein Industries Canada act as an ecosystem orchestrator across the broader value-added agriculture sector, building on its existing role and its Make It Here initiative, which calls for food and ingredient manufacturing to be treated as a national economic priority.

"One tonne of peas sold as a raw crop has one value," Protein Industries Canada wrote on the Make It Here campaign page. "That same tonne — when even a portion is processed into protein, starch, and fibre — generates ten times the economic value. Same crop. Same farmers. Same harvest. But dramatically more value, more jobs, and more economic impact, simply because the processing happens here."

The EY findings were presented at the Plant Forward on the Prairies conference, held at TCU Place in Saskatoon from Sept. 21 to 23, 2026. The event was organized by Protein Industries Canada, Pulse Canada and Plant-Based Foods of Canada. On the morning of Sept. 22, Mauricio Zelaya, partner and national economics leader at EY Canada, moderated a session titled "Make it Here: Feeding Canada & Key Global Markets," which also featured Diedrah Kelly, executive director of Canada's Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food Office, based in Manila.

Kelly was appointed to lead the office in December 2023. The office works to expand agri-food trade and build partnerships across the Indo-Pacific region, according to her conference speaker profile.

The scale of the opportunity sits against a large existing base. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada reported that in 2024, food and beverage processing was Canada's largest manufacturing industry, with sales of $173.4 billion — 20.3 per cent of total manufacturing sales. The sector employed 318,400 people and exported a record $59.8 billion in processed food and beverage products, up 3.8 per cent from 2023.

A separate Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada overview, modified in September 2026, put the broader agri-food system's contribution at $158 billion of GDP in 2025, accounting for about seven per cent of the national economy and supporting approximately 2.3 million jobs.

Canada's National Food Security Strategy has identified domestic food processing as a national priority, linking increased processing capacity to greater self-sufficiency and economic growth. Canada is the world's ninth largest exporter of agri-food products, exporting approximately $100 billion worth annually, with the United States accounting for more than 61 per cent of those exports.

Protein Industries Canada CEO Tyler Groeneveld said in a December 2025 release announcing the Saskatoon conference that "Canada is the natural choice when looking for stable, innovative ingredient and food products," adding that the country "boasts one of the world's most reliable, innovative food and agriculture ecosystems."

The Make It Here campaign sets a target of unlocking $25 billion in GDP by growing Canada's domestic food system. Protein Industries Canada has not announced a formal government response to the EY report or a timeline for acting on its recommendations.