Afrucat, Catalonia's Fruit Business Association, and ACCIO's sales office in Montreal (Catalonia Trade & Investment) organized a trade mission to Canada this week. The agenda of the mission, which was funded by ACCIO, included business contacts with local importers and distributors, purchasing groups, purchasing managers of retail chains, and big fruit brokers.
Afrucat's internationalization group chose Canada after evaluating the anticipated strategic change in their commercial relationship with the United States due to president's Trump's policies. His decision to enhance investments in US territory will mainly affect neighboring countries, such as Canada and Mexico.
Afrucat also took into account other factors when choosing Canada, such as the new varieties of stone fruit that make the peaches and nectarines from Catalonia more competitive, and the existence of an import protocol with Canada.
At present, Canada imports 90% of its peaches and nectarines, 81% of its apples, and 60% of its pears from the US.
Six companies associated with Afrucat are participating in this mission offering their fresh fruits (apples, pears, peach, nectarine, flat peach, and plum), citrus, grapes and persimmons. They also plan to conduct a Study Tour to visit malls and markets, so they can see the market, the fruit that consumers buy, their presentation formats and prices first hand.
Canada's fruit market
Canada has a population of 36 million and a growing interest in healthy eating, organic products, and indigenous production.
Despite having its own production, which has been adapted to low temperatures, in 2015 Canadian imports increased by 13% over the previous year. Canada's most important fruit imports by volume are: bananas, melons, apples, grapes, oranges, tangerines, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and others.
Its main supplier countries of fresh fruit are the United States (47%), Mexico (12%), Chile (7%), Costa Rica (4%), Guatemala (4%), North Africa, and Southern Europe .
Canada supplements its demand with indigenous and US production but only when their main suppliers run out of stock.
At present, Spain is the 9th biggest supplier of apples to Canada, the 11th supplier of pears, and the 5th supplier of peaches and nectarines.
Export protocols
Canada has a protocol to import stone fruits (but the registration period for this season has already ended) and only requires a phytosanitary certificate and an additional declaration for the import of apples and pears.