The federal and provincial governments announced investments earlier this week
By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com
Two levels of government recently invested in Ontario’s hazelnut industry, which will help producers and processors remain competitive, according to Jeff Leal, Ontario Minister of Agriculture.
“The fact that (Brantford, Ont.’s) Ferrero Canada is using (the provincial government’s) $11 million under the Jobs and Prosperity Fund to … scale up their business so they can compete on an international basis is what we want for businesses in Ontario,” he told Farms.com today.
The provincial government announced its $11 million investment into Ontario’s hazelnut sector on Wednesday, the same day the federal government announced a nearly $500,000 investment into the same sector.
And these investments show that government has confidence in this new industry, according to Minister Leal.
“The Ontario Hazelnut Association has an ambitious goal of having 10,000 hectares (24,720 acres) of hazelnuts planted by 2027,” he said.
“Currently, Ferrero imports most of their hazelnuts from Turkey and we’re working to grow hazelnuts on a commercial basis. We’re pleased the federal government provided additional investment in growing hazelnuts in Ontario.”
Increasing hazelnut productivity in Ontario is only viable if there are fair trade agreements.
Ferrero exports its chocolates to Australia, Europe, Mexico and the United States – meaning that the ongoing NAFTA discussions are imperative to Ontario’s hazelnut and the agricultural industry overall.
“Ontario’s view for the NAFTA renegotiations is that we don’t want anything that would thicken the borders, in terms of exports to the United States and around the world,” Leal said.
“The way we grow companies in Ontario is to scale them up and make sure they have the ability to compete on an international basis. That’s very important for our future.”
Top photo: Ferrero Canada's facility in Brantford, Ont.