Ontario’s wine and grape production industries combined yielded a value-added impact of $529 million for the province’s economy in 2007, a new study reports.
The study, done by KPMG for the Wine Council of Ontario, says that impact is up from $202 million in 1997. Furthermore, the study said, the industry supported about 7,000 Ontario jobs last year, up from 4,700 in 1997.
Ontario wines bought by Ontario residents in 2007 thus translated to a value-added return of $8.48 per litre to the province’s economy (combining the income for labour, business and government), compared to just 67 cents per per litre of foreign wines, the council said.
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“The findings suggest that the Ontario government and the Ontario economy are receiving a positive rate of return for investing in and promoting Ontario grape production and wine production,” the council wrote in a release Thursday.
“When Ontarians go local with their wine purchases they will not only
enjoy quality Ontario wines, they can also toast to the economic health and
growth of the Ontario economy and Ontario jobs,” said council chairman Norm Beal, owner of Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery, in the release.
