The surtax that Canada wishes to impose on Florida oranges to respond to the 25% tariffs that President Donald Trump wants to impose on Canadian products is not likely to have a big impact on the price of your juice, according to an expert from the agri-food industry.
• Also read: Ottawa wants to tax Florida orange juice
Canada is the United States’ largest customer for orange juice. The country imports approximately $150 million worth of orange juice, or approximately 100,000 metric tons of oranges per year.
However, according to Sylvain Charlebois, professor at Dalhousie University, several alternatives exist to replace the fruit.
“We can import from Brazil, Mexico. We are seeing more and more products from South Africa. So, even if we apply tariffs, I’m not sure that it will affect the price of orange juice. We risk seeing less orange juice from the United States,” assured Mr. Charlebois.
-What worries the expert more is the impact of surcharges on the wheat, beef and pork sectors that come from the United States, in particular.
“We import around $32 billion in food products from the United States,” he illustrated.
“It is certain that these products risk costing more, especially since the Canadian dollar is weakening,” he added.
Watch the full interview in the video above
