About The Sector
Food and Beverage Processing
Food and beverage processing is the largest manufacturing sector in Manitoba, accounting for 33 percent of Manitoba's total manufacturing sales in 2024. Manitoba's food manufacturing industry has maintained consistent annual growth, with sales rising from $4.9 billion in 2019 to an all-time high of $8.95 billion in 2024. The sector directly employed 16,365 Manitobans in 2024 and is the largest manufacturing employer in the province.
Productive farmland suitable for the production of various crops and animals, access to state of the art research facilities and world-class transportation infrastructure, available highly skilled labour, and a business-friendly environment make Manitoba a unique place to invest in food and beverage processing.
The Manitoba food and beverage manufacturing industry is vastly diverse. Manitoba produces a wide variety of food products ranging from potato products to meat, grain and oilseed products - including primary and secondary processing.
Major food processors in Manitoba include:
- Meat products (Canada Packers, Hylife, True North Foods, Exceldor Cooperative, and Sunrise Farms)
- Grains and Oilseeds (Bunge Canada, Viterra, Richardson Milling, Roquette and Emerson Milling Inc.)
- Potato (McCain Foods and Simplot Canada Ltd.)
- Dairy Products (Bothwell Cheese, Groupe Lactalis, Dairyworld Foods, and MDI Holdings Corp.)
Exports for processed food and beverage products stood at $4.53 billion in 2024, an increase of 0.6 percent, as compared to 2023. This accounts for 50.6 percent of the total food manufacturing sales in 2024. Manitoba top exports in 2024 include pork and canola oil, with the top four markets being United States, Japan, Mexico and South Korea.
Visit the Markets and Statistics section to view food and value added agriculture reports and statistics.