MONTREAL — As tariff tensions continue to run high, much talk at the Canadian Produce Marketing Association Conference and Trade Show, April 8-10, has centered around U.S. produce suppliers losing Canadian consumers’ business to an upswell of support for local products.
“[Canadian consumers] want to know where the food comes from … [U]nderstanding who grew it, where it comes from, and that it was grown in a sustainable way is key. The other piece that comes into play, perhaps most importantly, goes back to that nationalism and food sovereignty framework,” said CPMA President Ron Lemaire, addressing attendees. “When we talk about Canadian sentiment buying, we asked them specifically about fruit and vegetables.
“Sixty-nine percent of Canadians said it’s going to be a long time before I make a change to purchasing anything by Americans,” continued Lemaire. “That’s not good.”
The 30-year history of an integrated North American trading strategy is at stake. The dynamic has changed, and no one knows how long it will last, Lemaire said.
And pricing isn’t going to solve the problem.
Lemaire said he recently visited a grocery store in Canada, where the retailer was selling clamshells of Florida strawberries for $1.99. Ordinarily at that price, they would have been flying off the shelf, he said, but “the display was full.” A display of Mexican strawberries selling at $4.99 to $5.99 that were the ones Canadian shoppers were buying.
“That is a radical shift in consumer behavior,” said Lemaire. “Now, is it happening everywhere? No, [but] this was concerning.
“We need, as an industry, to begin rallying ... And whether you’re saying, ‘Hey, it’s a great opportunity [for] Canadian companies,’ … in the end, it disrupts the market stability [and] nobody will win,” he added.
“This is a government-to-government issue,” he continued. “We have to recognize government has forced us into an environment that we actually have control of fixing. Government will not fix this for us.”
Lemaire said CPMA sent a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney urging for the removal of Canadian tariffs on U.S. food products.
As tariff negotiations continue, Lemaire challenged the fresh produce industry to be the transformative change needed to weather global disruptions, starting by getting down to business at the CPMA show.
Your next read: Ron Lemaire talks trade wars ahead of Montreal show
