The sale of Vegpro International to American interests is “disappointing” news for several players in the food industry. If they would have preferred that this “flagship”, known for its Attitude brand lettuce mixes, remain a Quebec property, they are not however afraid that food autonomy here will be jeopardized for the benefit of other markets.
Posted at 6:00 a.m.
“We prefer to buy businesses from outside, rather than outside businesses coming to buy our businesses,” acknowledged the Minister of Agriculture, André Lamontagne, during a telephone interview with The Press.
” [Mais] this [ne sont] not activities that are moved, he adds. These are vegetable crops. It’s a market, first that of Quebec and, after that, the other markets that Vegpro may have. There is a very important part of the company that is here in Quebec, so there will be prosperity that should follow following this transaction. We hope so. »
If it was a tech company, at some point you can take the tech and go somewhere else. But here, we are talking about food products that are grown at home, processed at home.
André Lamontagne, Minister of Agriculture
After initiating discussions that lasted a year, Vegpro, the largest vegetable production company in Quebec, finally passed into the hands of the investment firm Vision Ridge Partners, whose head office is located in Colorado, following the retirement of founding chairman, Gerry Van Winden.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, PRESS ARCHIVES
Vegpro International facilities in Sherrington
The news was announced Wednesday to employees at the head office and plant located in Sherrington, Montérégie. The new majority shareholder manages a portfolio of 2.5 billion US dollars in the energy, transport and agrifood sectors. It should be noted that the agricultural land operated by the company in Quebec, British Columbia and Florida were excluded from the transaction. Vegpro will be tenant-cultivator of these lands, the ownership of which goes to Mr. Van Winden and Anthony Fantin, new president, also co-founder of Vegpro and still a minority shareholder.
“The land is still there”
According to Maurice Doyon, professor in the department of agro-food economics and consumer sciences at Laval University, this transaction will not penalize the Quebec market in terms of supply. “It’s not a manufacturing plant,” he recalls. There are agricultural lands. We are told that agricultural land was excluded from the transaction. It still changes things when we talk about food self-sufficiency. The land is still there. »
“Could we find ourselves in a situation where we would prefer to supply an American market before supplying a Quebec market? We are talking about products that are still quite perishable,” he adds.
I think the economic interest is to serve a local market first. At this level, I do not have the impression that it will change much. It’s more the notion of the decision-making center that will move [qui peut changer quelque chose].
Maurice Doyon, from Laval University
Moreover, Mr. Doyon does not hide his disappointment “to see that in this case, we have not succeeded in keeping a Quebec property”.
Scenarios like that of Vegpro where foreign investment firms are grabbing hold of Quebec companies are likely to happen again, in particular because several owners are approaching retirement age, observes the specialist. “The demographics are there. The bigger the company, like Vegpro, the smaller the pool of buyers in Quebec. And the smaller the basin, the more likely it is that foreign capital will arrive. In the case of Vegpro, four candidates have expressed interest in acquiring it: a Quebecer, a Canadian and two Americans.
Sustainability of food autonomy
According to Sophie Perreault, President and CEO of the Association québécoise de la distribution de fruits et legumes, the sale of Vegpro could in some way ensure the sustainability of Quebec’s food autonomy. “For me, food self-sufficiency goes through the sustainability and expansion of our Quebec businesses,” says the one who knows Gerry Van Winden well. “If we want to continue to feed Quebec — that’s what food self-sufficiency is — the injection of this capital will really allow the company to expand. What is reassuring for me is that the management of operations, market gardening expertise, land ownership, all that remains in Quebec, it’s the same team. »
Mme Perreault also points out that Vegpro already exports to the United States and that Mr. Van Winden has never hidden his desire for expansion. “Having land in Canada and the United States allows us to be on our Quebec shelves longer too, because we can offer a greater variety of products for longer. »
With the collaboration of Martin Vallières, The Press