Managing
Canada Calling: The End of the “Stream of Commerce”
Phase and How to Maximize Trade Opportunities
By Matthew Holmes
June 30, 2011 heralded the end of Canada’s “Stream of Commerce”, a two-year imple- mentation period for the new Organic
Products Regulations. This period allowed organic companies to continue to sell products
they had in stock while they worked to create
new products that meet the new guidelines.
As of June 30, 2011, however, this period is
over and Canadian regulators have clearly signaled that the era of full enforcement is now
officially in effect. How does this affect your
business and your trade with Canada? What
do you need to know to be fully compliant to
Canada’s unique organic standards and labeling requirements? What’s going on in this
market that should make you pay attention?
One of the Leading Growth Economies
The Canadian organic market has continued to grow rapidly during the implementation phase of the mandatory standards and
labeling regulations. Data released this year
by Agriculture Canada shows that market
sales doubled in two years, from 2006 to 2008,
when it was estimated at $2 billion per year
( 2. 5 percent of all food retail sales in the
country). Subsequently, the Canada Organic
Trade Association (COTA) has tracked the
trends for the top organic imports and, based
on an extrapolation of sales data for the category of fresh fruits and vegetables, has found
that the market very likely continued to grow
at this double-digit rate through 2009, while
correcting slightly in 2010. This extrapolation
of market sales against import trends suggests
the Canadian market in 2010 could be valued
at over $2.6 billion per year.
Mainstream retail in 2008 was responsible
for approximately 46 percent of all organic
sales, while natural health stores and other
specialty outlets represent 36 percent, and di-
rect marketing and restaurant sales round out
the remainder. Euromonitor recently valued
the Canadian mainstream retail market share
of organic at over 52 percent in 2010. Accord-
ing to the Strategic Counsel, approximately
98 percent of all consumers in Ontario shop
for all or some of their food at a supermarket,
and 92 percent report that the locations they
shop in carry organic food. Meanwhile, 25
percent indicated they shop at farmers mar-
kets, and 19 percent at specialty or health
food stores.
