Canadian sugar and confectionery companies would be particularly affected if we price Coming into play because most industry sales go south of the border, according to experts.
“Sugar and confectionery are distinguished as one of these sectors, especially in the short term, which depends very on the United States, and could therefore see major impacts of American prices,” said Amanda Norris, a senior economist from Farm Credit Canada.
Industry is one of the most vulnerable agrifood sectors in Canada because more than 80% of its sales are in the United States, according to the FCC.
Canada and the United States are currently in a one-month truce after President Donald Trump has threatened radical prices on Canadian imports. Canada said it would retaliate with clean prices.
The economic consultant for agriculture and food Sébastien Pouliot said that if the United States introduced widespread prices on Canadian products, the United States could start to import more confectionery products from other places like the ‘Europe.
“I would expect that there is a significant drop in candy exports to the United States (Canada) in this case,” said Pouliot.
Commercial data shows that in 2024, Canada exported $ 5.3 billion in sugar and confectionery products in the United States, it is the best supplier of confectionery products in the United States, before Mexico and Germany, according to agriculture and agricultural Canada.
Canada also exports refined sugar, the United States by far with its largest export customer. According to Canadian Sugar Institute, Canada has sent nearly 60,000 tonnes of refined sugar in the United States in 2023.
The Canada Sugar and Confectionery Industry is “overdeveloped” compared to the United States, said Pouliot, as sugar prices are more attractive north of the border.
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The price of sugar is much cheaper in Canada due to existing quotas and protectionist prices in the United States, said Pouliot.
This gives companies manufacturing in Canada an advantage when it comes to making candies and other confections, he said: “These are companies that work around prices.”
The prices and reprisal prices currently on the table would have a “significant negative impact” on the Canadian company Rogers Sugar and its operational subsidiary Lantic, the company said in a profits statement on February 6.
Cadbury chocolateor, Mondelez International, who has manufacturing operations in Canada, said in his report on profits that any climbing in the commercial dispute “would present a significant risk” at his sales and contribution costs.
The other multinational confectionery brands with manufacturing operations in Canada are Hershey, Nestlé and Mars.
Some companies are already looking for ways to swivel while they face uncertainty over the next four years, said Lisa McEwan, co -owner of Hemisphere Freight and Customs Brokerage, which helps customers – including candy companies – import and export between the United States and Canada.
“A huge concern is that the margins simply cannot take a 25%increase,” said McEwan.
“It is not possible.”
In the short term, there is not much that Canadian industry can do to meet the prices, said Pouliot.
If it seems that prices are there to stay, then the multinationals “will examine more seriously the construction of new plants in the United States,” he said.
If Canada retaliated, this would also have a significant impact on imported products such as packaging, said Norris.
This is concern for Canadian companies that do not count on the United States for sales, such as the Chocolatier de Purdy, based in Vancouver, which celebrates its 118th anniversary later this year.
The company imports significant raw materials, in particular nuts, the United States, said President Lawrence Eade.
For example, homonymous pacans in the basic products of the company Sweet Georgia Browns actually come from Georgia, he said.
“We are not going to get around this. We are not going to replace them, “he said.
At the same time, the industry is also faced with a significant increase in cocoa prices while farmers fight with extreme weather conditions.
With the relatively low Loonia at the moment, this could help compensate for some of the pressures of the potential prices of the United States, said Norris because it makes Canadian imports a little cheaper.
But on the other hand, the weaker Huard makes imports from the United States – like the packaging – more expensive, it said: “It is therefore a balance between there.”
There is a silver lining for companies like Purdy: the thrust “Buy Canada” which has buyers across the country promoting Canadian products.
“It’s absolutely the time for Purdy to really scream that it means to be a Canadian business,” said Eade.
& Copy 2025 the Canadian press