$12-billion in food exports to U.S. could find new buyers in other markets, report says

A combine harvester empties Canola into a grain cart on a farm near Clandeboye, Man., in September.

A total of $12-billion in exports of food and drink currently shipped to the United States could find new buyers at home and abroad, according to a report published Monday.

Redirecting these products would help curtail Canada’s dependency on the U.S., an increasingly unreliable market that Canadian farmers and food processors are overwhelmingly reliant on. The U.S. accounts for 76 per cent of Canada’s total food and beverage exports. Diversifying $12-billion of trade would take this share down to 50 per cent, said the Farm Credit Canada report .

But to do this, Canada will first need to address interprovincial trade barriers, and boost productivity to get a firmer foothold in other in