Potato Growers of Alberta (PGA) announced the release of its landmark study on the economic impact the potato industry in Alberta. The report, entitled The Alberta Potato Industry – Growing Success in 2022 outlines the significant growth of Alberta’s potato industry in recent years and documents its economic impact on our economy.
“We knew our industry has seen accelerated growth in recent years, but we had no way of measuring its overall impact on our economy,” said James Bareman, Chair of PGA.
The report documents a total economic contribution to the economies of Alberta and Canada of $2,870,000,000 ($2.87B). It further documents job creation of 9390 full time equivalent jobs, $662M in employment income, $1.33B contribution to GDP and $87M in tax revenue to federal and provincial governments.
“We are pleased that we now have an accurate assessment of our industry’s contribution and delighted with the result. The industry could not have grown to this scale without the goodwill and collaboration of all parties – growers, processors, packers, the service sector, the scientific community, and governments. PGA warmly thanks all involved for their excellent contribution to growing our industry into the largest potato sector in Canada,” said Bareman.
The study was completed by two reputable firms, Serecon Inc. and Nichols Applied Management, who have conducted many similar economic impact assessments in the past. Their use of standard input/output economic inquiry is consistent with methodology commonly employed across the globe to conduct economic impact assessments. The study methodology was further scrutinized and approved by an independent third-party university economist.
“We wanted to ensure the study was accurate and the methodology was beyond reproach. That’s why we went to great lengths to ensure it was conducted in a manner that would pass rigorous external scrutiny,” said Terence Hochstein, Executive Director of PGA.
The first part of the report essentially tells the story of the scale and growth of the potato industry in Alberta. The second part explores the industry’s economic impact on the economies of Alberta and Canada as a whole. The report was designed to include rich graphic illustrations depicting the size and scale of the industry. A further set of appropriate graphics is being designed for use in school classrooms.
PGA gratefully acknowledges the Canadian Agricultural Partnership grant it received from Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation to cover a portion of the costs of the project.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL REPORT or see the attached PDF.