Canada: Alberta’s potato industry is booming thanks to a global appetite for french fries

Alberta’s potato industry is in the midst of a growth spurt thanks in part to a growing appetite in Asia for french fries and hash browns.

The number of harvested acres of potatoes in Alberta has grown about 35 per cent since 2019, according to Farm Credit Canada, and with McCain Foods doubling the size of its potato processing facility near Coaldale, a town in southern Alberta, the sector is expected to grow even more.

"Generally speaking, it’s [looking] very optimistic for the sector going forward," said Leigh Anderson, senior economist with Farm Credit Canada, which provides financing to agricultural producers.

The rise of potato production in Alberta, as well as Manitoba, is shifting the balance of potato power in this country westward. As of 2022, 45.6 per cent of potato production took place in the Prairies and British Columbia, while 35.7 per cent was in Atlantic Canada and 18.7 per cent in Central Canada, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

That year, Alberta even managed to snatch the crown away from Prince Edward Island as the country’s top potato-producing province.

Eyes on the fries: Alberta snatches potato crown from P.E.I.

The overall economic impact of the sector is now valued at $2.87 billion Cdn, according to analysis from the Potato Growers of Alberta.

Still, as with any agricultural product, the sector faces risk from unpredictable weather patterns — and unpredictable consumer preferences.

Industry expanding in Alberta

The rise of Alberta’s potato industry picked up in earnest around the turn of the millennium, when rival french fry makers McCain and Lamb Weston set up processing plants in southern Alberta within about 15 months of one another.

New Brunswick-based Cavendish Farms has also gotten in on the action, buying out rival potato company Maple Leaf Potatoes and spending $430 million to open a new Lethbridge potato processing facility, roughly the size of seven football fields. When the plant opened in 2019, it employed 238 workers.

An excerpt from a 1998 Calgary Herald article titled "French Fry Battle."

An excerpt from a 1998 Calgary Herald article written when McCain Foods and Lamb Weston were each setting up potato processing operations in southern Alberta. (Calgary Herald/CBC Archives)

Today, 73 per cent of the acres of potatoes grown in Alberta are for processing of frozen potato products and potato chips, according to the Potato Growers of Alberta.

(While less significant than the processing side of the industry, Alberta also carries on a brisk business exporting seed potatoes and a small-but-growing industry producing potatoes for consumers, thanks in part to the expansion of Edmonton’s Little Potato Company.)

Potato processing plant opens in Lethbridge, will provide nearly 240 full-time jobs

French fry giant McCain to spend $600M to double its potato processing capacity in Alberta

Rising demand for processed Alberta potatoes has been linked to a growing appetite for these products in Asia, according to the Potato Growers of Alberta. The province is exporting potatoes directly to that continent and to the United States to fill some of the need that’s opened up as a result of the U.S. sending more potatoes overseas.

"The consumption in Asia and eastern Asia is expected to grow more over the coming years," said Anderson, the FCC economist. "There’s lots on the horizon that’s good for the sector."

The McCain Foods plant is pictured near Coaldale, Alta.

The McCain Foods plant is shown near Coaldale, Alta. The company is expanding the facility to create two new production lines, one for french fries and one for frozen potato specialty products. (Josh McLean/CBC)

McCain Foods, in particular, is betting big on the future of Alberta potatoes. The Toronto-based manufacturer announced last year it would spend $600 million to double the size of its plant near Coaldale, a rural community about 15 kilometres east of Lethbridge.

"The doubling of the McCain’s plant is a big deal," said Alison Davie, who grows potatoes as an owner of North Paddock Farms, south of Taber, adding it’s an exciting time to be in the potato industry.

"It’s an opportunity for farms to expand, [and] it’s an opportunity for new farms to come on board."

A potato flower is pictured on a plant near Taber, Alta.

A potato flower is shown on a plant near Taber, Alta. (Paula Duhatschek/CBC)

Weather, shifting tastes pose challenges

Southern Alberta is considered a good area in which to grow potatoes because of its sunny days and cool nights, but the region has also faced persistent droughts in recent years.

The availability of irrigation has meant the sector has been able to weather the hot, dry summers, and the Potato Growers of Alberta says upgrades to irrigation infrastructure will help the sector going forward.

Still, there will be risk in whether "Mother Nature delivers enough rainfall or snowfall through the winter to feed the irrigation canals," Anderson said.

Another challenge to the potato industry could come in the form of shifting consumer tastes.

A close-up of a person reaching out to grab a french fry from a fast food container.

French fries have reliably been the top-selling item across Canadian restaurants and food service chains for at least 15 years, says an analyst with Circana Canada. (Carlos Osorio/The Associated Press)

French fries are popular across age categories and demographics, and have reliably been the top-selling item across Canadian restaurants and food service chains for at least 15 years, said Vince Sgabellone, a food service industry analyst in Toronto with retail analytics firm Circana Canada.

But the taste preferences of Generation Z, who range in age from about 12 to their late 20s, are shifting. An increasingly popular restaurant item today, for example, is the "bowl" — a noodle, rice or grain-based dish that doesn’t tend to come with a big pile of fries on the side — which could be bad news for potato growers and processors.

"What Gen Zs do [is] going to help to define the future of restaurants and french fries for the next 20 years or so," Sgabellone said.

Alberta potato production booming despite recent drought conditions

Searching for spuds: Potato farmers near Coaldale prepare for french fry facility expansion

Still, there’s plenty of optimism about the future of Alberta’s potato industry, perhaps best evidenced by the relative youth of potato farmers, who are almost a decade younger than the average farmer.

"There’s lots of young people coming back to the potato industry where you might not see it in other parts of agriculture," said Davie of North Paddock Farms.

"People are truly excited about coming back because they can see the opportunities in the potato industry."