The Conference Board of Canada goes after Farmers Again!

It consistently boggles my mind that after so much discussion about the gutting of rural Canada and the continual loss of jobs to imported products, that the Conference Board of Canada can even print this stuff.

 They certainly have not factored in what those imports would do to farmers or food safety. Increased access means lost jobs in whichever sectors.

 The brave new world of new, better jobs is is disappearing in a puff of smoke. 

You can find a complete summary of their views in the Press Release at: Canada's Barriers on Food Trade only Hurt  Ourselves. No one ever asks the industries on the losing end of this equation what the impact would be or what their opinions are.-CG



NEWS RELEASE 14-19

Canada’s Barriers on Food Trade Only Hurt Ourselves

Reducing tariffs likely to lead to more exports abroad and greater choice at home

Ottawa, July 31, 2013 –Canada should be a leader in reducing trade barriers on food products – instead of being one of the strongest holdouts in the developed world. A new Conference Board of Canada report, Liberalization’s Last Frontier: Canada’s Food Trade, argues that the food industry and Canadian consumers would benefit if import duties on food were significantly lowered.

“The benefits of freer trade in food are similar to those from trading any other product,” said Michael Burt, Director, Industrial Economic Trends. “The Canadian food industry can become more prosperous by serving fast-growing markets, which benefits all Canadians. And consumers benefit from a greater variety of food products at lower cost – including staples like year-round fruits and vegetables, coffee, sugar and tea. The only thing preventing Canada from gaining these benefits is ourselves.”

Highlights

• Trade barriers for food have fallen over the past 20 years, but Canada still maintains high tariffs, especially compared to similar countries.
• Canada is unlikely to gain the full benefits of its current trade negotiations without agreeing to reductions in tariffs on food products.
• Food imports provide Canadians with products they could not otherwise obtain at affordable prices.

Among the 34 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Canada is one of the very few that export considerably more food than they import, along with Australia, New Zealand and Chile. Unlike these countries, however, Canada still maintains very high tariff barriers on all dairy products, chicken, and eggs. And Canada has high barriers on wheat and barley.

Important New Dairy Industry Stats

The following article from the July Issue of the Milk Producer, is full of information that everyone who supports supply management need to have in their hands.  Certainly supply management's detractors would like everyone to ignore the facts. The figures provided below are important to farmers, governments and the public.  Use them well and spread them around.-CG

Dairy Industry Success Should Make Us Proud

DFO VICE-CHAIR’S MESSAGE By Ron Versteeg

Some people have criticized supply management as being a self-serving system that dairy farmers enjoy at the expense of others.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Canadian dairy farms produce nearly eight billion litres of milk a year, making the dairy industry Canada’s second largest agricultural sector. Our industry’s contribution to Canada’s gross domestic product has risen to $16.2 billion in 2011, up from $15.2 billion in 2009, according to ÉcoRessources Consultants, which provides economic analysis. It completed a study for Dairy Farmers of Canada on the economic impact of the Canadian dairy industry in April 2011, later updated in February 2013. The study showed the dairy industry contributes 218,330 jobs, up from 215,104 over the same time period. It is important to note this increase occurred during a difficult period in Ontario’s economy.

Our sector also pays more than $3 billion in taxes to all three government levels. This helps support several services, such as pensions, healthcare, road repair and other infrastructure projects.

All these benefits require the Canadian consumer to contribute little to maintaining our industry. Canadian consumers spend only 11.8 per cent of their disposable income on food, of which 1.07 per cent is our industry’s share of the grocery basket. Canadian per capita consumption of milk and milk products is about double the global average. By producing what the market requires, we avoid wasteful and costly surpluses. Dairy industry stakeholders enjoy reasonable costs, predictable revenues and a stable business environment. This lets producers earn a fair margin, reinvest in their farm businesses and make efficiency gains.

Our system has evolved considerably in the last four decades, yet it remains true to its guiding principles. No one has yet identified an alternative system that balances farmer, processor, government and consumer interests as well as supply management. That’s what the public interest is all about. Our long-term track record of shared success should make us all proud.

Wow- The Globe provides Balance !!

This article was a surprise, as the Globe and Mail has not been known for its balance  around the issue of Supply Management in the past.  True, it is not written by a regular Globe reporter but they did publish it and Mr.Clarke wrote a very good, pointed article about the issue of trade and reality.  It got the usual snarky, ideological comments but still the readers of this newspaper got some balance.  It is worth the read and more. -CG

PETER CLARKE

Canadians care about their dairy supply, not Economics 101

PETER CLARKE

The Globe and Mail

Published Thursday, Jul. 25 2013, 9:33 AM EDT

Last updated Thursday, Jul. 25 2013, 11:50 AM EDT

Canada’s system of supply management for its dairy, poultry and egg sectors has been getting a lot of attention in the business press over the past few months. Ongoing trade negotiations have prompted some pundits to argue that local poultry, egg and dairy farmers stand between us and final deals.

The point of disbelief arrived when two economists from the Fraser Institute, known for promoting the power and good judgment of unfettered free markets, argued against supply management, all in the name of low income households. The C.D. Howe Institute also offered similar positions, suggesting they know better than average Canadians about what is good for them. see complete article at: Canadians Care About Their Dairy Supply not Economics 1o1-The Globe and Mail

EU Trade Deal & Public Hearings?

This article was flashing around parts of the internet the other day. It sure is important to have our Premier's focus on this issue.  It is also important that dairy organizations ensure their premiers and their Ministers are kept in this particular information loop. 

It becomes even more important when they are reminded that Ottawa has continued its downloading to the Provinces, removal of supply management would directly impact the provinces and local economies, so provincial jurisdiction, control and input becomes enormously important in the lobbying battle to protect supply management. If you tweet and saw this article I hope you passed it on.-CG

OTTAWA

Critics urge provinces to hold public hearings on EU trade deals

Published Sunday, Jul. 21, 2013 06:52PM EDT

Last updated Monday, Jul. 22, 2013 04:48AM EDT

Critics of the free trade talks with Europe are urging provinces to ensure any negotiated deal gets a full public airing before it is formally signed.

The Trade Justice Network and Quebec-based Le Reseau quebecois sur l’integration continentale has sent premiers a letter in advance of their meeting in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., next week, saying the federal review mechanism is not sufficient.

The umbrella groups, which represent unions and civil society organizations, say provinces must step in because “the current federal government has rejected virtually every amendment proposed by opposition parties to every trade agreement that has come before Parliament for review.”
The Harper government has made a successful Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with 28 European Union nations a key economic and political goal – it would constitute the only major free trade deal since NAFTA two decades ago.

Unlike trade talks of the past, however, Canadian provinces have had to be directly involved in the process since some of the biggest issues – such as liberalized government procurement and public hydro-electricity tenders – fall under provincial jurisdiction.

As well, expected extensions in pharmaceutical patent protections will likely result in higher provincial health care costs. With so much involved, the groups say the provinces must hold public hearings, adding there is precedent for doing so.

“If there is a difference between the CETA and these other trade and investment agreements it is surely that the Canada–EU agreement will have far greater impacts on provincial sovereignty, as well as on policy flexibility at all levels, including municipally,” the letter notes.
“We therefore urge your government, and the Council of the Federation, to champion the idea of a democratic review of the CETA in between conclusion of the negotiations and a formal signing of the agreement.”

Most analysts believe a deal could be signed in principle this fall, despite several missed deadlines.
Officials on both sides of the Atlantic contend only a few difficult issues remain to be resolved, including expanded access for Canadian beef exports and European demands that Canada allow more imports of European dairy products.

But analysts also warn momentum could be stalled if the talks are not concluded quickly, particularly as the European Union is refocusing its attention on a deal with the more lucrative market in the United States.

Ottawa has maintained a deal could boost Canada’s economy by $12-billion and create about 80,000 jobs, although critics say the benefits are exaggerated.

Dairy Farmers of Canada & Huffington Post

It looks like DFC has a regular column or at least regular input into the Huffington Post.  Columns are being written by Richard Doyle -Executive Director of Dairy Farmers of Canada.  

This is  certainly one of the places to be because the Huffington Post is now often quoted as a source in the mainstream media. Who woulda thought that something that began as a fancy blog would develop into what we have today?

For those readers who do not know the Huffington Post, here is a Wikipedia account:

The Huffington Post (sometimes abbreviated Huff Post or HuffPo) is an online news aggregator and blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, Andrew Breitbart,^[2][3] and Jonah Peretti, featuring columnists.^[4] The site offers news, blogs, and original content and covers politics, business, entertainment, environment, technology, popular media, lifestyle, culture, comedy, healthy living, women's interests, and local news.

In July 2012, The Huffington Post was ranked #1 on the 15 Most Popular Political Sites list by eBizMBA Rank, which bases its list on each site's Alexa Global Traffic Rank and U.S. Traffic Rank from both Compete and Quantcast.^[13]

Kudos to Dairy Farmers as their media talents and tactics come of age.  Well done.-CG

Richard Doyle

Executive Director, Dairy Farmers of Canada

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How Should Farm Performance Be Measured?

Posted: 06/06/2013 11:35 am

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Dairy, Efficiency, Investment, Performance, Production Costs, Subsidy, Supply Management, Canada News

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Studies, like the recent one by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, that attempt to undermine the value of supply management to Canadian agriculture must be examined carefully.

These studies compare Canada to other nations and often state that we are lagging behind. In the case of the OECD study, it claims Canadian dairy farmers have a "particularly low" economic performance. The methodology that is used for these comparators is flawed in many respects. It defines "economic performance" as a comparative to "global competitiveness," uses tools that the OECD itself has claimed to be inadequate (e.g. Producer Support Estimate calculation) and lacks consistency in the data utilized (e.g. all farms in Canada compared with only larger farms in EU).

Canadians would also find it puzzling that the OECD would not include investment by farms in modern technology as indicator of performance. Here again, dairy farms in Canada are leading the pack in investing in robotics and other technology that make farms more efficient.

In the end, it is interesting that Germany, Belgium and Australia are held up as areas where farmers are identified as performing better from an economic standpoint. But that makes one wonder why dairy farmers in Germany, Belgium and Australia have taken to the streets to protest a system based on world prices that has made it increasingly difficult for them to cover their costs?

We don't see that in Canada. Supply management not only ensures consumers can access high quality dairy products, but it also ensures efficient farmers -- not all of them! -- can receive a fair price for the milk they produce based on their costs. Read more at: the Huffington Post- How Should Farm Performance be Measured?