Study author mulls Ontario's vegetable appeal

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

by DAVE PINK

The demand for okra, Asian eggplant, bitter melon, bitter gourd and other “ethnocultural” vegetables is growing, a University of Guelph study confirms, and it shows no sign of slowing down.

Glen Filson, a professor in the university’s School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, hopes the study will encourage local growers to produce vegetables preferred by recent arrivals from South Asia, who spend more than 30 per cent of their food budget on vegetables.

The potential in this niche market is huge, says Filson. And the soil and growing conditions north of Lake Erie, in the Niagara Peninsula, in the Holland Marsh, south of Lake Simcoe and even in the Ottawa Valley are suitable for growing some of these crops. Tests are being carried out at the research stations in Simcoe and Vineland.

The study involved interviews with 750 shoppers in Toronto food stores — 250 from the city's South Asian community, 250 from the Chinese community and another 250 from African and Caribbean communities. These shoppers indicated a strong preference for the types of fruit and vegetables from their homelands that are not easily available in Canada

“There’s no question about it. There’s definitely a market for it, and considering the changing demographics in Canada it will continue to grow,” says Steve Dimen, a spokesperson for Burlington-based Ippolito Fruit and Produce. Ippolito is a major distributor of produce throughout Canada and into the United States.

“Over the past two or three years we’ve seen a significant growth in that market,” says Dimen.

Right now, much of this produce is being imported, some of it from as far away as India and China.

“By the time it gets here, what good is it?” asks Filson. “There is huge potential to replace imported vegetables with local products.”

As well, he reckons, once these products are available in Canada, other buyers might take a liking to them. “There’s an increasing cross-over effect,” says Filson

At about 800,000 people, Canadians of South Asian descent make up the largest cultural group in the Toronto area and spend $33 million a month on ethno-vegetables.

“It’s unlikely that South Asians will totally abandon their traditional diet,” Filson says. “To the contrary, the demand for these vegetables is likely to increase with time.”

Many of these veggies, such as okra and kaddu (Asian pumpkin), could be grown here. Ontario’s growing season may be shorter than the native climates for many of these vegetables, but some of this produce can be grown in greenhouses, or started there and finished in fields, says Filson.

Although local production probably cannot guarantee supply all year long, the researchers say it would guarantee food safety, improve the nutritional value of the produce and enhance Ontario’s economy. BF