We’re in a trade war. Whether the tariffs are on, off, paused, or decreased, the fact remains that nothing is as it was.
This can be a good thing.
Within the Growcer network we’re starting to see a surge in interest for locally-grown greens. On a national scale, we’re starting to see a renewed conversation for increasing local food infrastructure. Let’s grow more here. Let’s process more here. Let’s buy local where we can.
Leafy greens more susceptible to tariff threats
Canada imports 90 per cent of its leafy greens, a majority of which comes from the United States. A heavy dependence on importing leaves leafy greens exceptionally vulnerable to tariff threats. They’re also perishable so stockpiling isn’t an option to minimize price shocks.
However, growth in greenhouses and vertical farming have allowed Canada to become more self-sufficient and less reliant on imports.
Specifically in lettuce, our “trade dependence ratio” showed an upward trend. Canada went from a -5.4 trade dependence ratio for lettuce to -3.3, which means that our imports are decreasing compared to what we’re producing. All this thanks to an increase in indoor farming.
Sitting on the solution: Vertical farms
The technology exists to further secure our supply of leafy greens. Vertical farms are uniquely suited to grow leafy greens, and modular farms – that take up the same amount of space as three cars – can be placed anywhere.
It’s been done before too. Japan is a great example of a country that focused on increasing their national food sovereignty after a tsunami disaster. As part of their recovery plans, the country invested in vertical farming and now produces all of their leafy greens within the country. Vertical farming was a perfect fit for a country where the population are large consumers of leafy greens and supply wasn’t always stable.
