Organic areas have more than doubled
The most recent version of Quebec’s biofood policy was adopted in 2018. One of the seven targets aimed to double the areas cultivated organically – that is, without pesticides or chemical fertilizers – by 2025. The objective was to increase them from 49,000 hectares to 98,000 hectares in 2025. The target was reached in 2019. Assessment for 2022: 121,000 hectares of organic fields. But those gains could be fragile. “The signals received from the industry show a decrease in demand for organic products that is attributable to inflation and economic uncertainty,” warns an analysis published Friday by MAPAQ. “This issue […] leads to uncertainty regarding the maintenance of certain areas. »
More Quebec foods on the menu
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The recovery in the restaurant sector has increased the share of Quebec foods on our plates.
The recovery in the restaurant sector has increased the Quebec content in our food. This is revealed in the latest “BioClip” by MAPAQ, a weekly analysis published by the government on various agri-food topics. The 2025 target aimed to increase the Quebec content in biofood products purchased in Quebec from 24 billion in 2016 to 34 billion in 2025, a threshold reached last year. Lifting of health measures, return of tourists, return to face-to-face work: “The sharp increase in Quebec content in 2022 is attributable in particular to a 13% growth in food demand, supported by an increase in consumption in the food sector. restoration”, can we read.
Eco-certifications: the crab still in troubled waters
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Snow crab represented 22% of the volume of Quebec aquatic products in 2022.
Gains are slower for sustainably fished products. In 2022, 55% of the volumes of aquatic products caught in Quebec were eco-certified. However, the target of the biofood policy was to increase them from 52% in 2016 to 70% in 2025. In 2018, the snow crab fishery in the Gulf of St. Lawrence had its certification suspended from the organization Marine Stewardship Council because of right whale mortalities, which occurred after collisions with boats or entanglements with fishing gear. Snow crab represented 22% of the volume of Quebec aquatic products in 2022. “The industry is carrying out various works that will make it possible to file a new application for eco-certification,” notes the MAPAQ.
Investments beyond projections
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
In 2022, total investments in agriculture, aquaculture and food processing enterprises approach $14 billion.
By 2025, the biofood policy aimed for total investments in agricultural, aquaculture and food processing businesses to reach 15 billion. In 2022, they approached 14 billion. “At the current rate, everything indicates that the 2025 target will be reached and even exceeded in 2023. During the period 2019-2022, the average annual value of investments stood at 2.3 [milliards]which represents an increase of 61% compared to the 2016-2018 period (1.5 [milliard] per year)”, can we read in the “BioClip”. The increase in investments is attributable to the low interest rates recorded until mid-2022 and to “the desire of companies to increase their production as well as their productivity and to modernize”.