by SUSAN MANN
Processors, restaurants and cheese distributors must register with the Canadian Dairy Commission to participate in a program offering lower priced mozzarella cheese for use on fresh pizzas.
The Canadian Dairy Commission announced the creation of a new milk class, called Class 3d, for mozzarella cheese to use on fresh pizzas starting June 1. The Canadian Milk Supply Management Committee approved the new class. The committee is chaired by the dairy commission and is the permanent body created by the provincial signatories to the National Milk Marketing Plan. It’s responsible for determining policy and supervising the plan’s operation.
The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association has been calling on the dairy industry for the past 15 years to introduce lower priced mozzarella cheese for the fresh pizza market.
The dairy commission is a crown corporation that coordinates federal and provincial dairy policies.
Commission spokesperson Chantal Paul says processors that make mozzarella for the fresh pizza market must sign an agreement with the Canadian Dairy Commission “if they want to participate in this program.” Cheese distributors must also sign an agreement but only the processors will get a rebate on the protein in the new class.
The current 3c price farmers get paid for protein is $14.07 per kilogram, while the price in the new 3d class for protein is $10.56 a kilogram, she says.
Processors will get the $3.51 per kilogram rebate on the protein in the new Class 3d compared to the current Class 3c protein price, Paul says. “That’s where the CMSMC (Canadian Milk Supply Management Committee) put the rebate.” The butterfat and other solids prices are the same in the new Class 3d as the Class 3c.
Whether or not the savings is passed on to restaurants depends on the processor. That’s because only farmers have regulated prices for the milk classes they sell; processors can set their own prices, as can others farther along the dairy industry’s value chain.
Canadian-produced milk is sold to processors through a milk classification system for the manufacture of products in various classes outlined by the dairy industry. The current Class 3c is for all types of mozzarella and other cheeses, such as brick, asiago, feta, Gouda, Havarti, Swiss and Parmesan.
Paul says restaurants using the cheese made from milk in the new class must also register with the commission. But it will be on-line and be a one-time registration. “We’re trying to make it as easy as possible for them,” she notes, adding “they’re going to get a registration number and that’s what they’re going to use when they buy their cheese.”
The registrations are needed so the commission can do audits. “We have to know who’s participating,” she says.
In a May 1 dairy commission press release, Dairy Farmers of Canada president Wally Smith says farmers hope the new class will boost sales of restaurant pizza cheese. But Paul says they don’t know how much the sales will increase.
“They’re doing this to see if it’s going to work,” she says. “The producers really want to see if this is really going to make a difference.”
At some point, the milk supply management committee will review the program to determine if there was market growth, she says. BF
Comments
"the registrations are needed so the commission can do audits". One must wonder if this is happening just so the CDC can narrow down who is buying imported or smuggled cheese?
If the Canadian dairy industry wants to have the respect of, and/or support of, anyone, especially in the farm community, they're going to have to explain, in no uncertain terms, why it's a win/win situation for dairy farmers to throw cost-of-production pricing out the window for some mozzarella cheese purchasers, but not others. The undeniable fact of the matter is that as of June 1, 2013, the only people paying cost-of-production prices for mozzarella cheese, will be grocery stores. More to the point, if dairy farmers are now prepared to admit it's a good thing to lower prices of cheese paid by fresh pizza makers, why is it not a good thing to lower the price consumers pay for mozzarella in the stores? Dairy farmers are, of course, and as usual, trying to have it both ways. It's time to simply euthanize supply management before they embarass themselves any further. How can anyone still be stupid enough/greedy enough/naive enough to support this type of complete-buffoonery?
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
It is about time the government stepped in to help out a major buyer of mozzarella cheese, the pizza maker and restaurants. I purchase 14,560 kg of mozzarella cheese a year. If the average person bought that much cheese a year I would expect them to get a deal, as I am sure you would.
Because a car dealership gets their cars at a wholesale price, is it right for the average consumer to expect to get that price.
There needs to be a more level playing field when it comes to restaurants competing with pre-made meals that can be purchased at the grocery store. These products are made by huge companies that buy there products cheaper than a restaurant and sold by huge companies with many more customers than and one restaurant. Most restaurants are run independently and these people are trying to scrape by on 8 to 10 percent profit margin and with a lot lower number of customers on average.
Just hoping that everyone who qualifies for the government 3d cheese program will apply for it and make sure you do your best to keep it in your pocket. It is about time someone gave a little help to one of the largest employers in the country, the restaurant industry!!!
Matt, Pizza shop owner.
Where u get cheaper cheese for pizza. I have two stores and I want to find cheese for a good price.
Thanks
In about three weeks, there are going to be three completely-different pricing schedules for the identical product, depending solely on who's buying it, and what they're going to do with it. Anywhere else but in supply management, people would go to jail for trying to do the same thing - but not in farming where the belief that "we're dairy farmers, the rules don't apply to us" seems to prevail, but, hopefully, not for long.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
Could they possibly have come up with a more complicated, cumbersome bureaucratic system? They make our provincial politicians look good!
When the Soviet Union collapsed, I'm positive some of their central planners came to Canada to work for supply management. The classic Kremlin story involves a men's suit factory being rewarded to produce more suits - unfortunately these suits would fit only midgets or large chimpanzees. It's that type of mentality which allows supply management supporters to claim it's a good thing to throw cost-of-production pricing out the window for some mozzarella cheese customers, but not others.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
Price is still way too high.. I will be buying American cheese instead...through Sysco...
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