Given the choice, B.C. consumers want to "buy local" whenever possible.
According to a BMO survey released in July, B.C. residents were among the most likely in the country to buy local fruit and vegetables.
That's something relatively easy to do given that B.C. grows a cornucopia of produce ranging from berries and tree fruits to Asian vegetable staples such as bok choy, gai lan and lotus root.
Access to the fruits of B.C. farmers' labour is readily available. Local produce is available direct from farms, through local farmers markets, neighbourhood produce stores and B.C.-based online grocers.
But buying local doesn't necessarily mean "buying small." B.C.'s agricultural industry is big business with several products taking a significant share of the Canadian and North American market.
B.C. produces most of the country's high-bush blueberries and raspberries, a third of its greenhouse peppers and apples, nearly a quarter of Canada's tomatoes and 12% of North America's cranberries.
Growth to such a scale has resulted in one of the few steadily growing segments of B.C.'s economy. According to BC Stats, the province's agricultural exports have steadily risen over the past decade to $1.9 billion in 2012 from $1.4 billion in 2003. B.C.'s fruit exports, in particular, have continued to increase their relative significance; exports have risen 83% to $301 million in 2012 from $164 million in 2003.
While there might be some cognitive dissonance in buying from local producers selling the bulk of their produce into national and global markets, in the end, British Columbians may seem OK with it when it comes to their own spending habits. According to Statistics Canada, three-quarters of grocery store revenue has gone to chain stores for at least the past five years.
A sizeable portion of sales goes to retail giants like Arkansas-based Wal-Mart, Texas-based Whole Foods (which owns Capers Markets), Nova Scotia-headquartered Sobeys (which owns Thrifty's and recently acquired Canada Safeway) or Ontario-based Loblaws (which owns Richmond-based T&T Supermarket and operates under the Real Canadian Superstore and Extra Foods brands in B.C.).
But B.C. has its fair share of local grocery chains. While many aren't small operations, they are local, and potentially contribute relatively more to the regional economy. •
