BC Business
candy
10 per cent. That's roughly how much of Canada's sugar production is created at the 13.5-acre Rogers sugar refinery complex on Vancouver's waterfront—so when you sneak a treat this month from your Halloween cache, consider that the sweetness in those foil-wrapped chocolate eyeballs or spooky jelly worms may have originated close to home.
10% That’s roughly how much of Canada’s sugar production is created at the 13.5-acre Rogers sugar refinery complex on Vancouver’s waterfront—so when you sneak a treat this month from your Halloween cache, consider that the sweetness in those foil-wrapped chocolate eyeballs or spooky jelly worms may have originated close to home. The refinery—recognizable by the gothic-looking warehouse near the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge—has a production capacity of 240,000 tonnes, but last decade’s high dollar and tight trade quotas in sugar-hungry markets like the U.S. and Japan have limited demand in recent years, says Sandra Marsden, president of the Canadian Sugar Institute. “We’ve not fared well in trade agreements—our markets are open and everyone else’s are closed,” she says. “But we’ve been very engaged in trade negotiations, and if the TPP is implemented the industry stands to benefit. With its good agricultural inputs, there’s lots of opportunity in B.C.”