Fruit and vegetable production, 2022

Released: 2023-02-16

Fruit and vegetable farm-gate sales rose 13.1% in 2022 to $3.0 billion compared with 2021. Farmers reported higher yields and farm-gate sales for both fruit (+15.3%) and vegetables (+11.2%), as all major commodities increased.

At the national level, total fruit and vegetable production rose by 6.1% to 3.5 billion kilograms in 2022. Although Western Canada is still recovering from the impacts of dry soil conditions in 2021, growing conditions were generally more favourable in 2022.

The agricultural sector as a whole was faced with higher operating expenses, mostly due to increased costs of fertilizer and fuel. Rising fertilizer costs were an important expense to farmers in 2022, increasing 29.3% to $7.3 billion in 2021 and continuing to rise in 2022.

Chart 1 
Farm-gate value of fruits and vegetables

Production and value of total fruits and vegetables increases

In 2022, total vegetable production (+3.7%) and farm-gate sales (+11.2% to $1.6 billion) grew compared with the previous year. Ontario accounted for 55.2% of the total vegetable production in 2022, followed by Quebec (34.0%) and British Columbia (3.1%).

The increase in farm-gate sales was driven by higher sales of dry onion ($157.2 million), carrots ($153.9 million) and tomatoes ($128.4 million). Together, these commodities accounted for 14.8% of total sales.

In 2022, fruit sales increased by 15.3% to $1.4 billion, mainly driven by higher prices and increased production from favourable weather conditions. The increase in farm-gate sales was attributable to low-bush blueberries (+37.5%), cranberries (+34.9%) and apples (+17.3%).

In 2022, apple production bounced back relative to 2021. Sales rose 17.3% to $284.6 million due to favourable weather conditions. Ontario accounted for 45.1% of the national apple sales, followed by Quebec (24.2%) and British Columbia (19.6%).

In Quebec, the farm-gate value of total fruits rose 38.3% to $392.3 million in 2022 as marketed production grew 37.6%. Top-selling fruits within the province include cranberries (+55.4%), with $131.1 million in sales, and strawberries (+15.6%), with $86.7 million in sales.

Due to long-term favourable weather beginning in fall 2021, it was a record-breaking year for Quebec cranberry producers, with the province producing 72.5% of the total cranberries. Higher production of cranberries was mainly due to increase in yields (+41.3%).

In British Columbia, total fruit production edged down 3.0% to 251.0 million kilograms in 2022, attributable mainly to the lower production of currants (-10.4%), grapes vinifera (-10.0%) and apples (-9.0%).

Conversely, total production for raspberries (+39.6%), pears (+19.3%) and labrusca grapes (+15.7%) increased.

Fruit and Vegetable Consumer Prices

In 2022, consumers paid more out of pocket for groceries. Prices for fresh vegetables (+10.4%) and fresh fruits (+8.3%) increased on a year-over-year basis.

Contact information

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