M. Shahbandeh
Research expert covering agriculture & FMCG
Meat industry in Canada- statistics & facts
The meat industry in Canada is comprised of production and processing, packing, preservation, and marketing of meat such as, beef and veal, lamb and mutton, pork, chicken, goat, rabbit, horse, and wild game such as venison and bison. Meat is widely consumed in Canada, with the quarterly retail sales of meat and poultry averaging about 4.38 million Canadian dollars in 2022.
Canadian meat production
In 2022, the volume of beef produced in Canada amounted to 1.38 million metric tons. Canada’s meat processing companies manufacture a wide variety of meat products ranging from fresh and frozen meat to processed, smoked, canned, cooked, as well as sausage and deli meats. The meat product manufacturing industry in Canada generated some 6.16 billion Canadian dollars in gross domestic product in December 2022, up about 100 thousand Canadian dollars in the same month in the previous year.Meat trade
Led by pork and beef, meat is one of Canada’s highest valued agro-food exports. In 2022, the value of beef and veal exported from Canada amounted to 4.68 billion Canadian dollars and the export volume of pork amounted to about 1.41 million metric tons. In 2022, import volume of beef and veal into Canada was around 214,000 metric tons and was expected to increase to 215,000 metric tons in the next year.Reducing meat consumption
The Canadian meat industry is widely recognized for well-established safety standards of the highest quality as overseen by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). However, many Canadians reducing their meat consumption or cutting meat entirely out of their diets. Since 1980, the per capita consumption of beef in Canada has reduced by over 13 kilograms. Only about 61 percent of consumers are regularly consuming meat and sausages, far below the consumption of fresh produce, dairy products, and eggs. As of June 2023, about five percent of Canadians reported being vegetarian and three percent reported being vegan, which could account for the decrease in meat consumption.
