Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives

Grains and Oilseeds Commentary

Information on the Canadian food supply has been tracked since 1960 by Statistics Canada with assistance from the Food Bureau of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and input from provincial government departments, industry organizations and the USDA.  Trend analysis suggests that, on a per capita basis, Canadians diets are featuring more tea, yogurts, breakfast cereals, berries, processed fruits, asparagus, poultry meat and wine.  Total daily caloric intake per person fell to 2,382 calories in 2008, from a high of just over 2,513 calories in 2001, mainly as a result of decreased intakes of oils, red meats and soft drinks. 

From 1988 to 2008, consumption of breakfast cereals increased 38% from 3.0 kg to 4.1 kg per person.  Rice intake averaged 7.0 kg per person in 2008, a rise of 1.8 kg from the previous year.  However, this was offset by less demand for wheat flour which fell to 43.7 kg in 2008, a drop of 2.3 kg from one year earlier.  From 2007 to 2008, consumer choices may have been impacted by the cost of cereal products given that wheat flour prices increased by 34.5% and pasta prices rose 31.9%. 

Consumption of fresh and processed vegetables averaged 79.5 kg for individual Canadians in 2008, a decrease of 4.0 kg from 3 years earlier.  Carrots, lettuce, onions and tomatoes, which generally make up slightly more than one quarter of fresh vegetables in the Canadian diet, decreased by 9% in 2008 compared to the previous year.  In the same time period, potatoes continued to represent 44% of fresh vegetables in the average Canadian diet.  Over the past 20 years, asparagus, eggplant, kohlrabi and sweet potatoes have greatly increased in popularity, with fresh asparagus consumption doubling to 0.2 kg per person in 2008, consumption of eggplant increasing by 60% to 0.2 kg per capita, and intake of sweet potatoes more than tripling to 0.4 kg per person.  Total processed vegetables in the diet remained at the same level as in 2007.  In 2008, potato chips and frozen potatoes increased and reached respectively 3.2 kg and 7.1 kg in the diet. 

Total fruit consumption in Canada reached a record high in 2008 at 47.5 kg per person.  Compared to one year earlier, fresh fruit intake remained relatively unchanged while consumption of processed fruits increased 7% to reach 8.8 kg per capita in 2008.  Small berries continued to rise in popularity as Canadians consumed an average of 0.7 kg per person of fresh blueberries in 2008, up 14% from 2007.  Consumption of cranberries rose to 0.8 kg per capita in 2008, an increase of 34% increase from one year prior.  Raspberries, loganberries, mulberries and blackberries combined increased by 31% over the previous year to reach 0.5 kg per person in 2008.  While Canadian production of these berries decreased slightly compared to the previous year, the rise in consumption can be attributed to an almost 100% increase in imports.  Strawberries remained popular in 2008 with intakes similar to 2007 at 2.0 kg per capita.  A higher intake of dry fruits accounts for some of the rise in consumption of processed fruits.  From 2007 to 2008, the intake of processed berries rose 16%.  Oranges in the Canadian diet in 2008 returned to levels similar to 2006 at 4.9 kg per capita, rebounding from 2007 when frost damages in the United States lowered availability. 

Per capita Canadian consumption of yogurt has doubled over the past decade to 5.4 litres in 2008, a steady increase from 0.03 litres in 1960 and 2.4 litres in 1998.  Ice cream has gradually decreased over the last 14 years; from 2007 to 2008, it has dropped by 12% (0.7 litres) to reach 4.8 litres.  Total milk, including buttermilk, chocolate milk, whole, 2%, 1% and skim milk, continued its downward pattern from the late 1980s.  In 2008, Canadians drank 57.7 litres of milk per person, down 12.3 litres from 70.0 litres in 1988. Whole (homogenized 3.25%) milk in the diet dropped by 0.4 litres from 2007 to 2008, a decline of 23% from ten years earlier.  Cheeses have retained popularity with Canadians. 

Over the last decade, the amount of poultry meat in Canadian diets has risen by 1.9 kg to reach 13.6 kg per person in 2008 while the amount of red meat has dropped by 3.7 kg to 23.3 kg per capita.  Chicken is the more popular poultry meat and has maintained a plateau in the last 3 years at 11.2 kg per capita, while in the same time period turkey increased by 6% to 2.4 kg per person.  From 2006 to 2008, beef and veal intake in the diet decreased to 12.8 kg while pork increased slightly at 9.7 kg per capita.  Although the average Canadian consumes half a dozen less eggs compared to 2006, in the last 20 years the intake of eggs has remained fairly stable between 11.5 and 12.5 dozens per year.  Total fish in the diet remained stable in 2008 at 6.6 kg per person, with an increase in fresh, frozen and processed sea fish offset by a decrease in shellfish.  While the shellfish harvest rose 35% in 2008 compared to 2007, the extra production was mostly offset by a 29% gain in exports and a 15% drop in imports. Oils and fats, including butter, salad oils, shortening and margarine, maintained their downward trend to 18.1 kg in 2008 versus 18.3 kg the previous year. 

In 2008, honey production was down for a second consecutive year, due to poor weather conditions, winter kill in bee colonies and varroa mites.  However, despite lower production, exports from Canada to the United States increased, due to sales of large stocks of honey accumulated from previous years.  International demand for honey increased in 2008 and Canadian beekeepers benefitted from a 36% rise in honey prices in the United States and 41% rise in honey prices in Japan.  Although less honey was available for domestic consumption, large amounts were exported. 

In terms of beverages, Canadians over 15 years in age drank 15.0 litres of wine per person in 2008, a five-fold increase from the early 1960s.  Beer and spirits have remained at levels similar to 2007: 77.2 and 7.1 litres per person respectively.  Per capita consumption of tea increased to 79.4 litres in 2008, partly due to antioxidant properties of some teas.  Although the availability of soft drinks adjusted for losses fell from 76.4 litres in 2007 to 73.2 litres one year later, this does not take into account high energy and sports drinks.