In Canada, the dairy industry is growing fast. In 2018, the market value of the Canadian dairy industry amounted to approximately 11.45 billion Canadian dollars, and is forecast to increase to 11.65 billion dollars by 2019. Among the Canadian provinces, Quebec is the largest dairy producer, with 354.2 thousand dairy cows and 128 dairy manufacturing establishments.
The value of milk and dairy manufacturing shipments in Canada amounted to about 14.3 billion Canadian dollars in 2017. In 2018, the average net operating income of dairy farms in Canada amounted to approximately 172.19 thousand Canadian dollars and the farm cash receipts of dairy products amounted to approximately 6.9 billion Canadian dollars.
Regarding international trade, the trade balance of dairy products in Canada amounted to approximately -735.1 million Canadian dollars in 2016, meaning dairy imports were valued at around 735.1 million Canadian dollars more than dairy exports from Canada that year. In 2017, the trade value of dairy and eggs imported to Canada from the United States amounted to approximately 325.29 million U.S. dollars, followed by New Zealand with imports valued at only 56.38 million Canadian dollars. By 2018, the retail sales of packaged dairy goods are forecast to be valued at approximately 11.86 billion Canadian dollars, up from 11.73 billion Canadian dollars in 2016.
