Page 62 - InvestAlberta-EDA-2025

GROWING
OPPORTUNITIES
How Alberta’s high-quality grains drive
local innovation and global demand
BY CAROLINE BARLOTT
Photos: Kaycee Ann Photography
62
INVEST IN ALBERTA 2 0 2 5 ALBERTA IS A leading exporter of grains, selling seven million tonnes of
wheat to 70 countries around the world. While global markets value Alberta’s
agricultural output, local industry leaders see even greater potential. Every
year, Alberta produces over 10 million tonnes of wheat and 4.5 million tonnes
of barley. Cereals Canada puts the average yearly economic impact of the
cereal grains farming sector in Alberta at $7.93 billion.
“We grow all of these raw ingredients literally right under our feet,”
says Gurpreet Ranu, owner of Anohka Distillery in Parkland County, just a
45-minute drive west of Edmonton, Alberta’s capital city. Ranu believes so
strongly in the potential of Alberta grains that he left a high-paying legal career
to start his own distillery producing award-winning gin and whiskey. His
products have earned several international awards, including the World’s Best
New Make and Young Spirit Award at the World Whiskies Awards in 2024.
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