Tribunal dashes Canadian dairy industry’s efforts to eliminate tariff loophole

© AgMedia Inc.

Comments

Quote"she says all domestic industry and not just dairy should be concerned". Highly unlikely, I think our supply managed industry are the only ones with tarriff walls and pricing high enough to justify their so called fight. In other words, it is my understanding there is not enough incentive for this to happen with any other business importing into Canada. Is it possible this cheese comes out of the US plant aquired last year by Saputo after they downsized in Quebec? Raube Beuerman, Dublin, ON

Supply management was founded to increase farm gate prices, stabilize farm gate prices, and preserve the family farm. Since then it has strayed so far from that purpose that now the supply management system spends more time trying to perserve its ability to gouge the consumer by preserving 200% tariff barriers, by any means, than anything else. Ironically, BalanceCo, an organization with nothing balanced about it, was on the receiving end of the first "balanced" decision in a long time - the decision that the imports of this cheese topping could continue.

Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON

We have every reason to expect a public-relations onslaught by the dairy industry, containing all sorts of vitriolic fear-mongering about BST-laden imported cheese (all the while ignoring the fact that Canadian dairy farmers can readily import BST for their own use), and all sorts of flag-waving economic voo-doo about job losses (all the while ignoring the fact that tariffs and supply management are, by definition, net-negative for jobs and economic activity). As usual, and as always, the dairy industry did not have any sort of "Plan B" for this type of set-back, because, in their minds, they could not possibly lose, but they did. Unfortunately for us all, people who, like dairy farmers, aren't used to losing, often don't handle it well, as we are likely soon to see.

All farming has changed its now the BIG the BAD and the GREEDY. It doesn,t matter if its the sm farmers or not. Its no different in the processors or the stores .

Food processing and retailing operate on razor-thin margins and typically, when they are public companies, don't provide the sort of returns which endear them to the investment community. Every year for at least the last 30 years, Forbes, a US-based business magazine, has published financial indices of publicly-traded companies by sector, and food-related companies always lag when it comes to growth and return. Therefore, because farmers typically don't know, and don't understand, anything about food processing and/or retailing, one of the stupidest things we continually do is try to shift the blame for high retail food prices away from ourselves by trotting out the completely-meaningless farmers share of the consumer food dollar. Hey, people, nobody makes a killing in food, except for the legislatively-protected aristocrats in supply management and/or the corn growing bandits hiding behind ethanol legislation - we're the problem, not the people we sell to.

Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON

Loblaws announced on May 1/13 that their net profits soared 40%.
Loblaws Inc. earned $171 Million from a year earlier period with revenues rising to $7.2 Billion.

Thanks for pointing out how beleaguered groceries stores are scraping by on such "razor thin" profits.

joann

In typical farmer fashion, you're looking at things the way the NFU does, not the way a stock-broker does. Loblaw's profit as a percentage of sales, was about 2.3%, which is razor-thin by any yardstick. In addition, you have ingored the possibility that the most-recent figures could include non-recurring items which can, and often do, skew quarterly figures, and sometimes annual figures. Furthermore, you've reported aggregate figures which doesn't show profit as a percentage of sales on food items compared to non-food items. Food margins are typically a lot lower than the profit as a percentage of sales on non-food items. In additioin, you haven't reported return on share-holder equity, or any form of return on invenstment. In short, the figures you cited, are meaningless, and vividly demonstrate my point that farmers often don't know anything about the food processing and retailing sector, or how to analyze the financial data reported by any public company, and when they don't know anything, they shouldn't go out of their way to prove it. I guess what I'm trying to say is that your example would guarantee you an automatic failure on any managerial accounting or finance course.

Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON

I, like all farmers have blamed packers for "stealing" our hogs during periods of low prices. That came to an end (for me) when I became a packer and realized the truth.
There are times when packers actually have to pay more for the animal than they receive for the meat...I've never heard a farmer complain about that.

This winter, I agreed to help a young friend raise money for her Grade 8 class, by buying frozen pizza. When my order came, surprise, surprise, the entire pizza was made by Detroit-based - Little Caesar's, and was clearly marked as being a product of the USA. The knowledge that I was helping a Grade 8 student, and at the same time thwarting the single-minded greed of the Canadian dairy industry, added substantially to the taste. What would be even funnier is if one, or more, of my friend's Grade 8 classmates came from dairy farms and were also selling these imported pizzas, even (gasp) to their parents.

Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON

Post new comment

To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.
Image CAPTCHA
We welcome thoughtful comments and ideas. Comments must be on topic. Cheap shots, unsubstantiated allegations, anonymous attacks or negativity directed against people and organizations will not be published. Comments are modified or deleted at the discretion of the editors. If you wish to be identified by name, which will give your opinion far more weight and provide a far greater chance of being published, leave a telephone number so that identity can be confirmed. The number will not be published.