Trump’s new US tariff strategy has had a major impact on the Canadian fresh produce business, but not necessarily in the way one might have expected.
While a US levy on imports from Canada remains on hold at the time of publication, it’s a reciprocal tax on US produce heading north and across the border which is causing more concern – not least for importers and their customers.
Sav Tsoukalas, CEO of Seeds & Stems, has spent more than 25 years managing fresh produce supply chains in North America from his base in Toronto.
According to Tsoukalas, a 25 per cent Canadian tariff on US watermelons is unfairly driving up costs for consumers and distorting fresh produce trade, as his company works to expand year-round supply across the Americas.
Here, he discusses the complex consequences of Canada’s retaliatory tariff on the US and explains how that is changing those supply chains, retail buyer behaviour, and consumer sentiment.
Plus, he outlines his plans for future international expansion, and the importance of building new trade relationships with overseas suppliers.
