by SUSAN MANN
Growing the market for Canadian cheese is one of four objectives the Canadian Dairy Commission plans to pursue during the next several years, says CEO Jacques Laforge.
One way the Commission plans to grow the Canadian cheese market is to try and expand the fresh pizza cheese class currently available for restaurants using mozzarella, called Class 3(d), to include all uses of mozzarella, he said at the annual meeting in Ottawa Jan. 21. The Commission is hopeful this can be achieved, as “we believe this would be beneficial to producers and processors in the end.”
The Commission is also looking to expand the planned export class, called Class 5(d), for export cheese.
According to the Commission’s 2013/14 annual report, Class 3(d) was launched in June 2013 to encourage restaurants’ use of mozzarella on fresh pizzas. In 2013/14 more than 6,000 restaurants had access to the class. They used seven million kilograms of butterfat and 16.5 million kgs of solids-non-fat, the equivalent of about 30 million kgs of mozzarella cheese.
In February 2014, the Commission launched the Planned Export Program for Cheese. Its aim was to support the export of up to 3,000 tonnes of cheese per dairy year. During 2013/14, 1,842 tonnes of cheese, the equivalent of about 17.2 million litres of milk, were exported through the program, the annual report said. Signed contracts for 2014/15 coming from a first call for tenders have already hit 2,635 tonnes of cheese.
The three other objectives the Commission is working on include:
- Maintaining stability and predictability in the milk production system.
- Gradually eliminating the structural surplus of solids-non-fat. Farmers generate some solids-non-fat (SNF) as part of the supply management system’s primary goal to meet domestic butterfat demand. The portion of SNF that isn’t required by the domestic market is called the ‘structural surplus.’ It’s sold mostly as skim milk powder or animal feed. In 2013/14 there was a surplus of 61,000 tonnes of skim milk powder.
- Assist the dairy industry in implementing necessary and agreed changes to grow the market and ensure the supply management system is flexible.
Laforge said to get rid of the structural surplus the Commission is working on developing niche domestic and export markets for the solids-non-fat. “We are also heavily involved in securing domestic and international investments in Canada to develop these niche markets.” BF
Comments
These are the same people who drove Greek yogurt maker, Chobani, right out of the country - thanks to the selfishness and dumbness of the Canadian dairy industry, Chobani has, based on what I saw today at a Wal-Mart just north of Cincinnati, just over 25% of the self-space for yogurt, while in Canada it has zero.
In addition, this "gang that couldn't shoot straight" still can't seem to figure out the blatant double-standards behind allowing frozen pizza makers to buy mozzarella cheese based on world prices, yet forcing fresh pizza makers to pay more than that, and forcing people who make their own pizzas at home to pay the rip-off "cost-of-production" pricing which is completely-different again.
Finally, who could trust an industry that, even after forty years of declining primary demand caused by rip-off farm gate prices, still can't figure out that we can have supply management or we can "grow the market", but that it is impossible to have both at the same time?
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
Maybe we should ask some European dairy farmers how that "grow the market" is working out for them,now that they have abandoned the quota system.
It is surprising on why the cleaners at the food court is not having to have an "accreditation" , I buy a car in BC but have to recertify to get it sold or registered in Alberta, because Alberta is "different" (?)
After 10 years living in Canada it is disappointing and sad that we came here with a "dream" and now it is in Shambles.
It is "Cow funny Canadians" that is how I call them. So to own a cow in canada I should pay $28,000 per cow as the licensing fee?
Canada it seems is a Glass green house trying to force a life here.
This place does not want life or growth.
Sad
But anyway I like it here and will stay here.
Siva, Calgary AB
Should have went to the US, l am sure the cow's are free there !
Not free but Canadian dairy farms reportedly borrow $30000/per cow and US dairy farms borrow $3000/per cow...what's that tell you? It tells me SM sure increases costs!
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