Buyers that supply supermarkets and local chefs pick up their produce at the Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto, Ont. Nov. 18, 2010.Kevin Van Paassen
Wholesale sales increased for a fifth straight month in September, rising 0.3 per cent to $48.7-billion.
By volume, Statistics Canada reports wholesale trade fell 0.5 per cent.
The agency says September's higher sales came mainly from increases in the miscellaneous, and the food, beverages and tobacco products subsectors.
The increases were partially offset by decreases in the machinery, equipment and supplies, and the personal and household goods subsectors.
The largest sales increase was reported in the miscellaneous subsector, which rose 3.3 per cent to $6.8-billion in September.
Sales in the food, beverages and tobacco products subsector were up 0.6 per cent, their sixth consecutive increase.
The largest decrease in dollar terms occurred in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector (down 0.7 per cent).