Coming soon to your favourite frozen food section — made-in-Alberta prepared entrees and TV dinners, after the Alberta government ‘chopped’ taxes for value added processing of food products..Starting in this year, the UCP government will introduce the Alberta Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit to provide a 12% non-refundable tax credit to support growth and attract investment in TV dinners and other “value added” processed food products..To be eligible, corporations must make a minimum capital investment of $10 million in value-added agri-processing in Alberta. Existing operations would not be eligible for the credit..The move is seen as a way of diversifying the Alberta economy away from non-renewable resources. Indeed, successive speakers identified food as the world’s oldest renewable resource at a Tuesday ceremony at a beef packing plant in Rockyview County, near Calgary..“Alberta has the fundamentals to take our value-added agriculture industry to new heights and meet the increasing global demand for food. The new agri-processing tax credit will allow us to attract large-scale agri-food projects that will help grow our industry, increase opportunities for primary producers, create jobs and feed the world,” said Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Nate Horner..Hard numbers weren’t immediately available, but Horner said the province is targeting upwards of $1.3 billion in new investment per year. In a Chopped-worthy statement that would make host Ted Allen proud, the credit will cover any basket ingredient “that takes a new agricultural commodity and transforms it.” He cited veggie burgers as but one example of where young people in particular are looking for higher quality and innovation in food choices..According to the province’s numbers, food manufacturing sales reached a record $20.1 billion in 2021 and the sector employed 22,400 Albertans. Further, the food manufacturing sector was the largest manufacturing industry in the province, accounting for 23.8% of total provincial manufacturing sales in 2021. Global demand for food is expected to increase up to 56% by 2050, driven in part by geopolitical factors such as the war in Ukraine, which is considered to be the breadbasket of the world..“The Alberta Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit further positions Alberta as an attractive place to do business. By supporting this quickly evolving and increasingly competitive sector, this government is further encouraging investment that will create jobs and grow Alberta’s economy,” added Travis Toews, Treasury Board president and minister of Finance..Public opinion polls have shown that food security and inflation on the grocery shelves are increasingly becoming top of mind for all Canadians, not just in Alberta. A survey from the Salvation Army in December revealed more than half of Canadians polled (52%) said they'd faced food security challenges in the past year. Among those who accessed a food bank in the past year, 59% were first-time users..Looking to the future, 47% of respondents said they expect to face challenges with food security, 10% expect challenges to housing security and 33% said they expect challenges “due to limited financial resources.”
