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Investment Monitor 2023: Agriculture and Agri-Food: The Expanding Role of Canadian Companies in the Indo-Pacific

The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is pleased to present its final Investment Monitor Report of 2023: Agriculture and Agri-Food: The Expanding Role of Canadian Companies in the Indo-Pacific, which examines developments in Canada-Asia investment in the agriculture and agri-food sector.

In 2022, the Government of Canada identified agriculture and agri-food as a priority sector for Canada-Asia relations and committed, through its Indo-Pacific Strategy, C$31.8M over the next five years to help expand Canada’s agricultural trade with the region. To take stock of our agriculture investment ties with the Asia Pacific, this report reviews two-way agriculture investment trends at the national and sub-national levels, analyzes the role of specific sectors, identifies top-performing companies, and charts an outlook for the sector in the coming year.

The report finds that over the past 20 years, two-way investment in agriculture has been dominated by Canadian investors abroad, with Australia being the main beneficiary of Canada’s agriculture investment, accounting for more than 88% of Canada’s investment in this sector across the region.

Looking at inward investment, Japan, China, and Thailand were the largest Asia Pacific investors in Canada’s agriculture sector from 2003 to 2022. At the subnational level, Asia’s investors have made the largest investments in agriculture and agri-food in Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia.

The report draws on data from the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada’s Investment Monitor database, which provides information on Canada-Asia Pacific investment flows at the national and sub-national levels. The database is publicly available on the Investment Monitor website, investmentmonitor.ca. The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is grateful for the sponsorship and support it has received from Export Development Canada for the Investment Monitor project.

Anastasia Ufimtseva

Anastasia Ufimtseva is a Program Manager, Business Asia, at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. She holds a PhD in Global Governance from the Balsillie School of International Affairs at Wilfrid Laurier University with a specialization in international political economy. Her dissertation examined Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Canadian and Russian oil and natural gas sectors and she has published widely on trade and investment relations between Asia and Canada, specifically on FDI, governance, and energy policy. Prior to joining APF Canada, Anastasia worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Jack Austin Centre for Asia Pacific Business Studies at Simon Fraser University's Beedie School of Business.

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Charlotte Atkins

Charlotte Atkins is a Project Specialist with the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada's Business Asia team. She has a Masters in Political Science and Asian Studies from the University of Toronto, where her research focused on contentious politics in Asia. She has since expanded her research areas to include policy, trade, and investment between Canada and the Asia Pacific through her work at APF Canada.

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Shruti Jhunjhunwala

Shruti Jhunjhunwala is a Research Scholar with the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada’s International Trade and Investment Team. She holds an MSc in International Business from HEC Montreal. Her research interests include private-public partnerships as well as inclusive and sustainable trade.

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Alison Soe

Alison Soe is a Research Scholar with APF Canada's International Trade & Investment team. She recently completed her master's degree in Economics at the University of B.C., where she focused on international development economics, finance, and agribusiness. Alison's research interests include economic institutions, financial economics, and the impact of international trade sanctions on economic growth. 

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Xuemeng Wang

Xuemeng Wang is a Research Scholar with the International Trade and Investment team at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. She completed her Master’s in International Studies from Simon Fraser University. Her research focuses on socio-economic development, tackling associated challenges, and promoting social equality and sustainable development practices.

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