Value to the Canadian Economy

Cane and beet sugar refining is a vibrant and efficient industry that makes a significant impact on the national, provincial and local economies in communities across the country. The sugar industry’s other key economic benefit is its essential contribution to the country’s growing food processing sector.

• National Economic Impact
• Provincial Economic Impact
  • Alberta
  • British Columbia
  • Ontario
  • Quebec

National Economic Impact

The Canadian sugar industry produces more than 1.2 million tonnes of refined sugar annually with a value of shipments of approximately $800 million (2000-2007).

The sugar industry directly employs more than 1,200 Canadians at refineries in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia as well as hundreds of prairie sugar beet farmers. The industry has also made more than $200 million in facility investments since the late 1990s.

Efficient sugar production has contributed in a major way to the development of a vibrant value-added food processing sector; Canada’s second largest manufacturing industry. Food processing is now the top manufacturing industry in seven of ten Canadian provinces, and consumer-oriented food and beverage products represent half of all Canadian agri-food exports. (See: Agriculture & Agri-food Canada).

Canadian sugar users enjoy a significant advantage – the average price of refined sugar is usually 30 to 40 per cent lower in Canada than in the U.S. Most manufactured products containing sugar are freely traded in the NAFTA region. Canada: North America’s Location of Choice for Confectionery Manufacturers.

High quality, low-priced sugar is an essential input to major sugar-using food manufacturers which account for over $21 billion in sales and one quarter of all Canadian food manufacturing sales. Value-added by major sugar users is relatively high at an average 40% compared to the food manufacturing average of 30%. Canadian refined sugar has been a significant factor driving investment and export growth.

Employment in major sugar using food companies (over 70,000 employees) represents about a third of total food manufacturing employment. Major sugar using industries are listed below.

• Breakfast cereal manufacturing
• Sugar and confectionery product manufacturing
• Fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing
• Ice cream and frozen dessert manufacturing
• Bread and bakery product manufacturing
• Cookie and cracker manufacturing
• Flour mixes and dough manufacturing from purchased flour
• Flavouring syrup and concentrate manufacturing

In addition, sugar is used in producing wine, beer and other alcoholic beverages, animal feed, seasonings and dressings, and for non food uses such as plastics and pharmaceuticals.

By generating demand for goods and services, the sugar industry also indirectly supports a number of other economic sectors, including agriculture, natural resources, packaging, industrial machinery and transportation.

SUGAR USING FOOD MANUFACTURING GROWTH 1994 - 2009

"Value-added" is linked to Sugar

Value-added is a measure of the increase in value of a product above the raw material costs and services. In contrast to total shipments or sales, it provides insight into the economic benefit from processing and marketing an agriculture commodity in Canada. There is a high degree of “value-added” to raw sugar and sugar beets to produce various refined sugar products to meet both consumer and industrial needs. There is further “value-added” when refined sugar is purchased as a major ingredient by food processors. All of these steps provide employment and strengthen Canada’s economy.

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Provincial Economic Impact

Alberta

Taber, Alberta is home to Rogers Sugar beet processing plant. Rogers Sugar contracts with sugar beet growers to encourage continued high quality production and increased acreage of beets. Sugar beets are one of Alberta’s main irrigated crops and Alberta is the only province to produce sugar from sugar beets. About 250 Alberta farms plant more than 35,000 acres of beets each year for processing at Taber.

Taber’s sugar beet processing plant is the only one of its kind in the country. The plant has a processing capacity of 150,000 tonnes, and is one of the most advanced sugar beet plants in North America. The plant underwent a $40 million expansion at the end of the 1990s. Installation of a wastewater facility for the plant created more than 20,000 hours of employment alone. Plant expansion has led to an increase in permanent employment and major growth in the local economy through housing starts, retail development and the growth of service industries.

Production in the Taber facility includes granulated and powdered sugars in several package sizes. There are also two types of liquid sugar produced in Taber, liquid sucrose and liquid invert sugar. Both are shipped to industrial customers via bulk tankers.

Consulting Engineers of Alberta Award of Excellence - Resource Development and Award of Merit - Environmental Category Rogers Sugar Ltd. - Taber Modernization Project, Taber, Alberta

Rogers Sugar Ltd., Taber Modernization Project was undertaken over a two-year period to increase the production of the sugar beet processing factory to 6,000 tonnes of beets per day, a 50% increase. Rogers Sugar retained Associated Engineering for engineering, procurement and construction management of the modernization work, including an $8.5 million wastewater treatment plant that was designed, constructed and commissioned in less than one year.

In presenting the Award of Excellence - Resource Development and Award of Merit - Environment to Associated Engineering, judges noted that, "The Rogers Sugar Ltd. project illustrates a good combination of technical excellence and a good use of technology which benefited both the company and the community....[The project] was delivered in a short time frame, utilized international collaboration and products, tried to advance a technology in a previously untried market (food industry), reduced the environmental impact on the city's infrastructure, and led to a 50% increase in production."

Sugar Ingredient Costs Attract Confectionery Investment in Alberta

Sugar ingredient costs in Alberta are less than half of the sugar costs at US locations. In comparison to the United States, the opportunity for confectionery manufacturing in Alberta is driven by the availability of locally produced sugar at world market prices. No provincial sales tax in Alberta also contributes to the cost advantage.

According to a study by the Boyd Co. Inc., prepared for Alberta Food and Rural Development, cost savings from locating production in Alberta compared to US locations range from $4.9M ($US) to $10.9M ($US) annually. Sugar costs are one of the primary factors in these savings. Several multinational food processors have chosen Alberta, helping to make food and beverage processing the third largest manufacturing sector in Alberta.Confectionery: The Alberta Opportunity.

Alberta food and beverage manufacturing shipments have grown to $11 billion. Increases in sugar and sugar-using industries such as confectionery, bakery and fruit and vegetable processing contributed to the gain. (Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, 2008).

The province of Alberta is strategically located to access North American and Asian markets. Alberta is the second largest exporter of primary and processed agricultural and food products in Canada, after Ontario. In 2009, processed agri-food product exports from Alberta were valued at $3.2 billion.

Food companies that locate production in Alberta can benefit from a reliable supply of high quality, low cost sugar. From a globally competitive location, companies can deliver products meeting high quality standards for customers throughout North America.

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Rogers Sugar Terminal – receives
bulk sugar imports at Port of Vancouver.

British Columbia

Vancouver, British Columbia is home to one of Canada’s three cane sugar refineries. The Rogers cane sugar refinery is located on the Port of Vancouver's south shore. The refinery can produce up to 240,000 tonnes of sugar per year from imported raw cane sugar. The production output of the plant largely depends on the output of the Taber Alberta beet sugar facility and the variable US export opportunities that draw sugar from that plant. Sugar produced at the Vancouver refinery is sold to retail and industrial customers throughout western Canada. Rogers Sugar continues to invest in its Vancouver refinery to ensure that it can continue to meet its customers needs for high-quality, efficiently-produced sugar. The Company's sugar products are marketed primarily under the "Rogers" trade name and include granulated, icing, cube, yellow and brown sugars, liquid sugars and specialty sugars and syrups.

Rogers Sugar is Strategically Located to Supply BC's Food Processing Sector

British Columbia represents about 9% of Canada’s food processing companies (about 300 BC firms) and 17% of Canada’s beverage processing companies (about 40 BC firms). BC’s food processing market is valued at over $6 billion and has about 31,000 workers. Rogers Sugar is strategically located to supply sugar to the majority of BC’s food processing companies that are located in the lower mainland.

An estimated 55% of all of B.C.’s food processing firms are located in the Greater Vancouver area and the nearby Fraser Valley. Another 30% of food processing firms are located in the Okanagan Valley and the coastal regions (BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Fisheries).

The British Columbia food industry is dominated by a large number of small and medium sized firms which provide the industry with operational flexibility in responding to shifts in consumer tastes and preferences. These firms rely on a steady supply of high-quality, competitively priced Canadian sugar.

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Ontario

Ontario is home to three sugar industry facilities:

• Redpath Sugar Toronto Refinery: Built in 1959, Redpath’s cane sugar refinery on the Toronto waterfront has an output capacity of more than 2000 tonnes per day. In 1997, Redpath completed a $40 million expansion and modernization initiative that increased the plant’s production capacity by 75%.
• Redpath Sugar Niagara Falls facility: Produces blended sugar products.
• Lantic Sugar, Toronto distribution centre: Distributes Lantic Sugar products in central Canada.

Low Sugar Costs Attract Investment in Ontario's Food Processing Sector

Food processing is the second largest manufacturing industry in Ontario. The combination of high-quality local food ingredients (including sugar), a skilled and educated workforce, low business costs, central location, world class research facilities and an excellent transportation system give Ontario an advantage over competing jurisdictions.

Ontario’s food processing sector contributes $30 billion to the economy and employs over 83,000 people. (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs).

Ontario has attracted substantial investment in major sugar-using food processing sectors including confectionery and baking sectors which together account for 18% of Ontario’s food processing market. Since 2000 several major food companies have added new investments in Ontario, related in part to low sugar costs relative to US locations. (Invest in Canada)

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Quebec

Lantic Sugar owns and operates a cane sugar refinery on a 12-acre lot in eastern Montreal. The original plant was built in 1888. Over the years, the building and processing facilities have been frequently upgraded and a major expansion was completed in 2000. This investment doubled the refinery’s regular capacity to 440,000 tonnes and with overtime, plant output can exceed 600,000 tonnes.

Food Processing in Quebec Benefits from High Quality, Low-Cost Sugar

“With its rich rural tradition and forward-looking entrepreneurship, the agri-food industry is a major contributor to Quebec's economy. The presence of several multinationals, including Barry Callebaut, Danone, Frito-Lay, Kraft and Nestlé, testifies to the vitality of the industry.” (Investissement Québec, Agri-food)

Preparing a railcar for weighing.
Sugar is shipped to food processors in trucks holding up to 30 tonnes and railcars of over 80 tonnes.

The food processing sector is Quebec’s number one manufacturing employer, ahead of chemical products, transportation equipment, paper, and electrical/electronic products. Food processing is characterized by the predominance of small and medium-sized businesses, as well as artisan enterprises that make use of the wealth of local ingredients, including high-quality, low-cost sugar.

The food processing industry is Quebec’s leading manufacturing industry and represents 63,000 jobs. Food processing shipments were $22.5 billion in 2009 and agri-food exports reached $4.4 billion.

“The plentiful supply and affordable price of Canadian sugar constitute competitive advantages for food processing companies providing products to the North American market.” (Quebec: A Dynamic and Profitable Business Environment - PDF Format)

Sugar prices benefit food processors in every Canadian province

The positive economic impact of an efficient domestic sugar industry is felt in every Canadian province, not only those that are home to sugar refineries. The food processing sector is the largest manufacturing sector in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island and the second largest sector in New Brunswick. A steady supply of low-cost, high-quality sugar is an important ingredient in the success of the food processing sector. Retail consumers also benefit from Canada’s efficient sugar industry as domestic sugar prices are significantly less than those in the United States, where sugar is subject to government controls and high support prices.

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