Highlights

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Overall trends

In Canada, the total greenhouse area decreased for the second year in a row. This situation was accompanied by lower production and sales of greenhouse products, notably plants and flowers, and by lost jobs in the sector. The nursery sector also experienced a slight decrease in sales.

In 2008, the total greenhouse area was 20.8 million square metres, compared with 20.9 million square metres in 2007. Sales of greenhouse products decreased by 7.6% to $2.1 billion in 2008.

As for total operating expenses, they came in at $2.0 billion (-5.0%). Labour costs totalled $544 million and represented 27.7% of total operating expenses for greenhouses. Compared with 2007, the total number of seasonal and permanent greenhouse workers decreased by 8.6% to 38,375 in 2008.

In 2008, sales of nursery products came to $610 million, compared with $630 million in 2007 (-3.2%). For sod farms, sales of cultivated sod increased slightly by 0.5%, reaching nearly $128 million in 2008.

Flowers and plants

The survey reveals that production of flowers and plants was responsible for 47.9% of total greenhouse area and represented 61.1% of total sales of greenhouse products in 2008. Total sales of flowers and plants, however, came to $1.3 billion, compared with $1.5 billion in 2007, which is a decrease of 13.6%. Ontario, the largest producing province, experienced a decrease of $160 million in sales of greenhouse flowers and plants.

Production of potted flowers and plants ranked first, with sales of $647 million. Sales of ornamental plants for transplanting and cut flowers reached $226 and $126 million respectively. However, the value of sales in all categories of flowers and plants decreased between 2007 and 2008.

In 2008, Canadian greenhouses produced more than 208 million potted flowers and plants, 236 million cut flowers, 262 million tree seedlings, 639 million ornamental plants for transplanting, 357 million edible plants for transplanting and 65.8 million cuttings.

Costs for specialized producers of greenhouse flowers and plants were more than $1.1 billion. Labour costs represented 30.3% of total costs for greenhouses specializing in the production of flowers and plants. The purchase of plant materials and other growing costs (fertilizer, pesticides, etc.) were also among the main expenditure items.

Vegetables

Unlike ornamental production, sales of fruits and vegetables increased by 3.7% between 2007 and 2008. In 2008, fruit sales reached more than $813 million. Ontario production represented 58.5% of sales of greenhouse fruits and vegetables in Canada. The discovery of a phytosanitary problem in the tomato production in Mexico in the summer of 2008 gave a boost to Canadian producers. Sales of tomatoes increased by 4.5% to almost $372 million. This growth was observed mainly in Quebec and British Columbia. Sales of peppers, cucumbers and lettuce reached $212 million, $187 million and $24.1 million respectively. This represents an increase compared with 2007. Miniature cucumbers and greenhouse peppers were in demand in domestic and American markets.

Costs for fruit and vegetable producers reached $669 million in 2008. Labour costs, the principal individual expenditure item, came in at $163 million, which was one quarter of total operating expenditures. Other operating expenses (interest, property taxes, insurance, packaging, repairs and labour contracts) represented 30.7% of total costs for producers specializing in greenhouse fruits and vegetables.

Nurseries and sod farms

In 2008, more than one thousand nurseries in Canada sold trees, shrubs, seedlings and plants valued at $610 million. Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec represented respectively 45.6%, 29.9% and 11.5% of total sales of nursery products. Resale activities of nursery products, i.e., the sale of products not grown on site, represented 25.2% of total sales. Nursery products were principally sold to landscape contractors (27.7%), garden centres (22.5%), chain stores (14.2%) as well as direct sales (10.5%).

The survey collects information on nursery plants produced in fields and in containers. The different categories of cultivated plants appear here in decreasing order of importance in terms of volume: tree seedlings, fruit-bearing plants and shrubs, conifers, shade or flowering trees, and deciduous shrubs (including rosebushes).

Costs for producers of nursery products reached $501 million in 2008. Labour costs were at $200 million and represented 39.9% of total costs for nurseries. Nurseries employed 12,140 seasonal and permanent workers in 2008.

In Canada, nearly 200 farms were involved in sod cultivation. The total sod area decreased by 5.4% to 22,569 hectares. A total of 8,950 hectares of sod were sold in 2008. Ontario, Quebec and Alberta were among the main sod-producing provinces. In 2008, total sales of sod, including resale activities, came in at $130 million.

In 2008, costs for sod producers reached $106 million. The main expenditure item is for other operating costs, i.e., expenditures on fertilizer, pesticides, property taxes, interest, insurance, repairs, fuel and electricity. These costs came to $66.9 million, compared with $36.9 for labour costs. The sector employed nearly 1,800 workers, of whom three fourths were seasonal workers.