Q: Imports to Canada of this food product reached record highs in 2022 and sales have increased year over year despite rising prices. What is it?
A: Potato chips.
Savory snacks a market favorite
In a market worth over 13 billion U.S. dollars, savory snacks were the preferred choice of Canadian consumers, constituting 37.5 percent of the market. This fact is represented in international trade where the volume of potato chips imported into Canada has increased substantially in recent years. Imports in 2022 reached their highest value in a decade at 15.3 thousand metric tons. Manufacturing of snack foods within Canada is accomplished across a spectrum of enterprise sizes but more than a third of establishments are staffed by just one to four people.
Some consumers plan on cutting back
As with retail dollar sales, retail volume of snack foods has been increasing in Canada and is expected to continue to do so. This is despite the fact that price per unit in the segment is also expected to continue to increase for years to come. Between 2023 and 2028 the average price per unit of snacks is estimated to rise by over 10 percent. Some consumers in Canada, particularly in Nova Scotia, have indicated that they may cut back on their snack and convenience foods purchases, but given the resilience of the market thus far, prices increases would likely need to be steep to have much impact
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