Canada and its vast prairie region continues to be an important global food source that helps to feed countless communities around the world by providing reliable access to high-quality grains.
 
Every year more than half of Canada’s marine grain exports pass through the Port of Vancouver in British Columbia on their way to world markets — with terminals loading 32mt (million metric tonnes) of bulk and containerized grain onto hundreds of ships in 2023.
 
The Port of Vancouver is Canada’s largest and most diversified port, and its 29 terminals handled a record 150mt of goods in 2023 across four sectors (bulk, breakbulk, container, auto), and welcomed a record 1.24 million passengers at the Canada Place cruise terminal. There are nine bulk terminals and four container terminals at the port able to handle grain exports.
 
“Grain has long been a core sector connecting the Canadian Prairies and the Port of Vancouver,” said Doug Mills, the bulk sector’s Senior Account Representative at Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the federal agency mandated with enabling Canadian trade through the Port of Vancouver, while protecting the environment and considering local communities.
 
“The port’s grain handling facilities are among the most productive in any gateway in the world — successfully handling ever increasing volumes of agricultural exports. We saw the terminal’s capability in action last year when they were able to handle a sudden volume increase without impacting port fluidity, after grain exports increased almost 40% year-to-year.”
 
Canadian grain export volumes increased sharply in 2023 because a bumper crop season was preceded by a drought-affected season, which combined with Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine disrupting international trade flows and increasing demand for Canadian grain. For example, Q1 2023 wheat exports through the port were up 134% led by Algeria which had a 356% jump.
 
 
WAVE OF INVESTMENT IN THE GATEWAY
The Vancouver gateway has experienced a major wave of investment over the past decade and a half, with billions of dollars invested to build capacity, reliability and resilience. When it came to handling grain, this includes:
 
  • Construction of the new G3 Terminal, a state-of-the-art facility and the first new grain terminal constructed at the Port of Vancouver in decades.
  • Major upgrades to the Richardson International, Viterra Pacific, Fraser Grain, AGT, Cascadia and Fibreco terminals.
  • Road and rail improvements including improving rail access to the North Shore terminals, which handle about half of the grain that moves through the port.
  • Upgrades to the Vanterm and Centerm container terminals, and progress for the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 — supporting growing containerized grain exports.
This investment has supported a decade of growth for grain exports through the port and means Vancouver terminals have the capacity needed to handle expected growth well into the next decade. Grain volumes have steadily grown from around 19mt in 2010 to more than 30mt in 2023.
 
The port’s grain exports averaged just under 30mt from 2019–2023 — with China and Japan being the two largest export markets respectively.
 
SUPPORTING EVOLVING MARKET NEEDS
“Another trend we have seen emerge over the past decade is growth in containerized exports of grain and food products going through the port,” Mills says. “About a quarter of agricultural products such as peas, lentils and soybeans by value now move through the port in containers — or 10% to 15% of our total grain volumes.”
 
Wheat is the largest grain by volume exported through the port and accounts for about half of annual grain exports—as well as 5–6% of the world’s total wheat exports. Other major grains moved by through the Port of Vancouver include canola (seed and oil), specialty crops such as peas and lentils, and barley.
 
The peak season for Canadian grain exports is fall and winter, and the Prairies’ latest harvest is now making its way to world markets through the Port of Vancouver. Decades of investment in infrastructure, relationships and supply chains mean the port is ready to support growing grain exports at a time when global instability means the world is increasingly turning to Canada as a reliable source of food.