Although it has processed an annual average of over 460,000 tonnes over the past ten years, and recent seasons have seen processed quantities increase almost steadily, reaching an average of 520,000 tonnes between 2022 and 2024, the Canadian processing tomato industry only covers about half of its domestic demand (see additional information at the end of the article).
To supplement its production, Canada imports tomato pastes, canned tomato products, and especially sauces, for an amount that has fluctuated considerably in recent years, reflecting the upturn in domestic activity and significant fluctuations in global prices for processed tomato products. Canada's trade deficit in this sector thus decreased from USD 308 million in 2015 to USD 237 million in 2019 before widening again to a record level of USD 354 million in 2024. The bulk of the expenditure (51% of the total over the past five years, 54% in 2024) was devoted to supplying the Canadian market with sauces and ketchup, with the remainder (25% and 24%) being devoted primarily to purchases of tomato pastes; over the same reference periods, (net) imports of canned tomato products represented 24% and 21% of the Canadian trade deficit.
Canadian purchases of industrial tomato products are logically very focused on its large US neighbor. Over the past five years, the US processing sector has provided nearly 69% of Canada's supplies of tomato pastes and cans and 88% of its supplies of sauces and ketchup. In 2024, the Canadian trade deficit in the tomato paste sector amounted to 33,400 tonnes of finished products, similar to that of 2023 (34,200 t), but significantly reduced compared to the average deficits of the three previous years (41,500 t); this change was in favor of products of European origin, particularly Italian, which with 13,700 t improved their performance by 17% compared to the 11,700 t delivered annually over the period 2022-2024. These two supply hubs leave little room for competing sources (Egypt, Turkey), with which the Canadian deficit reached 3,200 t and 1,000 t respectively in 2024.
The deficit in the Canadian canned tomato balance is larger than that of tomato pastes: in 2024, it represented nearly 62,000 tonnes of finished products, a slight reduction compared to the average deficit (approximately 69,000 t) of the previous three years. As with paste, supplies are provided by the main global processing sectors: over the past five years, US products have represented nearly 68% of the (net) quantities imported into Canada, or approximately 46,000 t out of 68,000 t per year on average. European products (almost exclusively Italian) contributed approximately 32% of the Canadian balance of trade deficit in the canned tomato sector, with average annual quantities of around 21,000 t.
The largest deficit in the Canadian balance of trade is in the sauces sector: in 2024, it reached 94,400 t, a significant increase compared to the results for 2023 (81,000 t) and the three previous years (83,300 t), but a dramatic decline compared to the impressive quantities recorded between 2015 and 2018 (between 150,000 and 220,000 t). As with pastes and canned tomatoes, Canadian supplies are predominantly oriented toward US products: over the 2020-2024 period, 88% of sauces and ketchups entering Canadian territory came from the United States, a proportion that is slightly lower in 2024. Indeed, unlike other sectors, the emergence of sauces and ketchups of Italian origin, the only non-US origin significantly present on the Canadian market, only dates back to the early 2020s. However, after five years of growth, the penetration of Italian products remains limited: last year, the Canadian deficit in the sauces sector consisted of 80,000 tonnes of US products and "only" just under 12,000 tonnes of sauces of Italian origin. Outside of the main supply hubs, Mexican and Philippine products represented only a few thousand tonnes and less than 3% of the quantities mobilized.
In 2024, the United States accounted for 67% (USD 238 million) of revenues from supplying the Canadian market with tomato products; 27% (USD 97 million) went to Italian producers, with the remainder shared between Mexico (1.4%), Egypt (1.3%), Turkey (0.8%), and the Philippines (0.7%).
Some complementary data
Evolution of quantities processed by the Canadian processing industry over the past thirty-five years. The average is around 480,000 t.
Source: TDM, WPTC
