Below you'll find MLA Tim McLeod's Report from the Legislature for June 20, 2024.
The views expressed below are solely the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of Golden West.
Saskatchewan is a global leader in agricultural production and research. The innovation and ingenuity of Saskatchewan’s farmers, ranchers and agri-businesses was on full display at Canada’s Farm Show in Regina June 18-20. The show welcomed over 20,000 visitors from 50 different countries while generating millions in economic activity for the province.
Our province is committed to driving research and innovation in our agriculture sector. Over the last five years, our government has invested almost $52 million into crop-related research through the Agriculture Development Fund alone. That support helps our producers stay competitive and profitable in international markets, having a tremendous impact in Saskatchewan and around the world.
Those investments are paying off, with four consecutive years of record agri-food exports. In 2023, our exports totaled $20.2 billion, reaching our agri-food exports target of $20 billion for 2030 six years ahead of schedule.
In 2023, Saskatchewan exported over $7 billion to the Indo-Pacific Region. The top exporting destination in the region was China with $4.3 billion worth of agri-food products followed by Japan, India, Indonesia and Bangladesh.
Agri-food exports to Vietnam were up 227 per cent in 2023 as well. The increase was led by non-durum wheat, which was Saskatchewan’s largest agri-food export in 2023, rising nearly 32 per cent to a total of $3.7 billion in world-wide exports. Other top agri-food exports to Vietnam included peas and pure-bred swine.
This year has started off strong as well. In the first quarter of 2024, agricultural exports to India increased 1,217 per cent, totaling over 460,000 metric tonnes. As Saskatchewan’s top pulse market, exports to India were made up of peas and lentils.
Our province has several more ambitious goals for the agriculture sector, such as increasing crop production to 45 million metric tonnes annually and livestock cash receipts to $3 billion per year. The future of sustainable innovation in agriculture isn’t something we’re waiting for to arrive someday - it’s happening right now in Saskatchewan.
Thank you to all the farmers, ranchers and agri-businesses in our province who are dedicated to producing the food the world needs. We wish you all the best for a great season in 2024. If you have any questions, concerns or comments, I look forward to hearing from you. Please contact my office at 306-692-8884 or mjnorthmla@sasktel.net.