Good morning, everyone.
My name is Catherine St‑Georges, and I'm the director general of the Producteurs de cidre du Québec.
First, by way of introduction, I would like to introduce our association. It was founded in 1992 and will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year. It represents all cider producers in Quebec. We have 81 voluntary members and represent the interests of all cider producers in our efforts to optimize Quebec's cider-producing potential and secure the industry's future.
I have some interesting numbers for you.
I told you we have 81 voluntary members, but there are 118 permit holders producing cider in Quebec, 84% of whom also grow apples in the province.
Cider volumes rose from 3.2 million litres in 2016 to 5.1 million litres in 2021, a net increase of 60% in 5 years. The cider industry is thus truly thriving. We calculate that 11% of all apples grown in Quebec are processed as cider, and that volume is increasing as the industry grows. The total value of cider sales in Quebec is $51 million.
There are 9,000 jobs in Canada's cider industry as a whole. If you include all production-related sectors, such as restaurants, transportation and agritourism, cider production represents tens of thousands of jobs.