Cluster aims to bolster Toronto’s food industry
Economic initiative to focus on connecting industry with institutions and government
The GTA Food and Beverage Cluster, an initiative that’s set to launch on Monday, will strive to make one of the region’s biggest economic drivers even stronger, supporters say.
“We definitely have a critical mass of food and beverage manufacturing in this area and we think we can be an even greater economic driver,” said Derek Nighbor, senior vice-president at Food and Consumer Products Canada.
“Our hope is that the announcement is going to grow the industry and bring more partners together to make that happen.”
The Greater Toronto Area’s food and beverage industry is worth about $17 billion in annual sales and directly employs about 60,000 people, Nighbor said.
It is the already second-largest food industry hub in North America, sec- ond to Los Angeles. Chicago is the third largest.
A cluster is an economic focus on a particular industry that aims to connect businesses, government, colleges and universities to promote growth and innovation. Toronto is already home to financial services and life sciences clusters.
Toronto Councillor Norm Kelly, Janet De Silva, president and chief executive of the Toronto Region Board of Trade, and Anne Sado, president and chief executive officer of George Brown College are expected to attend Monday’s announcement, slated to be held at George Brown.
The cluster’s immediate focus will be innovation, skills and labour, Nighbor said.
It will produce an annual report on jobs in the food and beverage industry and promote the sector as career choice that offers good-paying jobs in a variety of areas from manufacturing and marketing to science and technology.
“Most Canadians probably think of hair nets and the typical assembly line from the 1950s,” Nighbor said. “Increasingly, if you go to a food manufacturing plant today, you are seeing high-tech and robotics.”
The group will also help link the industry with academic programs to tackle real business challenges and share information about government funding.
The Toronto food and beverage industry uses about 75 per cent of what regional farmers produce, Nighbor said.
The sector has faced some high profile setbacks in recent months, including the closure of the Wrigley chewing gum factory in Toronto, slated to close next year.
Farther down the road, plant closures announced by Heinz in Leamington and Kellogg in London have also drawn headlines. In spite of those job losses, the industry has held its own on the employment side, thanks in part to small, niche manufacturers, Nighbor said.
Businesses and industry groups hope that the lower Canadian dollar, as well as lower gasoline prices and increased demand from a stronger U.S. economy are the right ingredients for boom times.
“There are a lot of companies that are in growth mode and with the low Canadian dollar, there are a lot of export opportunities that are before us,” Nighbor said.
“What’s good for the GTA is good for the rest of the province and the country. If we can build a solid cluster and achieve some growth locally, I think we will have a lot of lessons that we can share.”