Canadian agri-product policy

The purpose of preparing this paper is to inform the process and provide the focus group participants with an idea of the future direction of the Canadian agri-products sector. [...] That significant added value and employment are created by the sector is evident in the range and extent of exports, in addition to the domestically focused industry. [...] In a recent profile of the Canadian agri-products industry, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (Krakar and Longtin, 2005) estimated the significance of the sector in terms of its proportion of Canadian gross domestic product (GDP), for the year 2003. [...] The pyramids in Canada, Japan, Germany, China and Russia will get top-heavy as the majority of the population ages and the young and working populations remain the minority. [...] Coyle et al (2004) also discuss the importance of rapid urban population growth and the growing middle class, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, on the international food system and the changing composition of consumption.