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Quebec releases greenhouse sector report

The ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec has released their report of the greenhouse vegetable sector from 2006 to 2015.

Available in French, the report focuses on the main greenhouse crops: tomato, cucumber, lettuce and pepper.

As the third-largest greenhouse vegetable producing province in Canada, Quebec is responsible for 7 per cent of the nation’s harvested vegetable greenhouse area which produces 4 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse vegetables.

The report notes that greenhouse vegetable consumption rose 60 per cent from 6.2 kg to 9.9 kg per Canadian; consumption of field-grown vegetables dropped by 21 per cent. However, a sharp rise in vegetables imported from Mexico has led to greater competition in the market and lower prices.

While Canadian greenhouse vegetable exports continued to climb, the value of Canadian imports as a fraction of US’ total greenhouse vegetable imports dropped from 54 per cent in 2006 to 29 per cent in 2015.

Here are some provincial highlights from the report:

• Only 7 per cent of greenhouse vegetable operations in Quebec measure one hectare or more
• Cash receipts from the sale of greenhouse vegetables totaled $95 million in 2015, up 18 per cent since 2012.
• The local market is the main outlet for greenhouse vegetables in Quebec, with 50 per cent of sales from grocery chains.
• Only 31 per cent of greenhouse vegetables consumed in Quebec are produced within the province, which presents an opportunity for sector growth.
• Strong growth in the organic sector could be another opportunity for Quebec, where Ontario does not yet have a strong presence.
• Producers are taking advantage of electricity incentives to install supplemental lighting, which helps extend the growing season into winter months and where they can benefit from higher market prices. About 40 per cent of the province’s greenhouse vegetable area uses supplemental lighting.

To increase productivity, Quebec’s greenhouse operations must reduce production costs (mainly labour and energy), adopt modern infrastructure and technology, and invest in research and development.

To see the complete report, click here.