Canadian kale grown in Carmen, Manitoba enjoyed a good season recently. Peak of the Market’s crop (late June to mid October) was in very good supply for its kale, sold by the carton. “Sales are up over 40% from the previous year, which was great,” said Dave Whitmore with Peak of the Market. “Prices were strong this year. It was a good year all around. Our best year ever for kale.” Distribution is exclusively within Canada.
Canadians continue to embrace the trendiness of the commodity and enjoy its health benefits. “I’ve heard from others in the industry that it’s possibly starting to level off but for us I think it’s a combination of still being strong demand for it, there’s a lot of new ways to package, new ways to cook it, lots of new recipes,” said Whitmore. “We’ve still got that buzz around it so I think sales are continuing to increase and from our sales standpoint we’re producing a little bit more so we’re sourcing out new markets.”
The province experienced some general challenges regarding a fair bit of rain but that didn’t affect kale crops. Whitmore says they’re working on their storage commodities now, which include red russet, yellow, and white potatoes, organic potatoes, cabbage, beets, parsnips, rutabaga, and red and yellow onions.
