Fair Food Trade ? Not likely.

The Conference Board of Canada is at it again.  Another report and with more spurious claims.  Perhaps they think that if they acknowledge some truths their doggerel will be better accepted.

Dairy Farmers of Canada deserves some kudos from their farmers.  I hope the industry is sharing this material far and wide to their producers. Producers are increasingly finding their information and updates via Twitter and sharing it!! They in turn, can transform and impact what kind of information the media is getting by posting from Twitter.

I am amazed at how widespread items can be.  It just takes a tweet to the right place or forum. Go for guys!-CG

Richard Doyle

Executive Director, Dairy Farmers of Canada

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One Size Does Not Fit All in Food Trade

Posted: 08/01/2013 5:22 pm

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Conference Board Of Canada, Dairy, Dairy Farmers Of Canada, Dairy Supply Management,Dairy Supply Management Canada, Dairy Tariffs, Deregulation, Free Trade, Price, Supply Management, Trade, Canada Business News

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Another Conference Board of Canada report claims supply management drives up prices and discourages international trade. I found it interesting to see some trade truths being acknowledged, that one-size does not fit all. Here are some more facts:

Farmers are not against trade. Canadians want Canadian food, and coffee of course!

There is no evidence that deregulating Canada's dairy market would result in lower prices for consumers. In fact, international experience tells us otherwise.

The Australian milk industry deregulated in 2000. The experiment did not work out as people had hoped: Dairy Australia monitored farm price fluctuations increased, hurting farmers, and consumer prices just kept going up at the same pace as before, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, resulting in this situation: 

Neither consumers nor farmers are benefiting. In the post-deregulated Australian dairy market, price fluctuations faced by farmers are more severe, and consumers are continuing to face rising prices.

It does not seem to work in Columbia either, which I do not find surprising. I've blogged about this before.

Furthermore, supply management has not prevented Canada from negotiating significant international trade agreements. Since 1986, with supply management firmly in place, Canada has completed free trade deals with the U.S. and Mexico (NAFTA), Jordan, Columbia, Peru, Costa Rica, Chile, Israel and EFTA (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein).

It must be noted that in these negotiations, Canada was not alone in wanting to "protect" certain sectors. Beef, sugar, dairy and rice are often considered "sensitive" by several countries in trade talks, as are cars, procurement and other services. See the complete article at: One size does not fit all in Food Trade

Bruce Muirhead does it well, Again!!!

I would think that the Media would review articles like this and try to provide the public with some balance. True, it is summer and true, although farmers get upset about inaccurate press, the media does not always pay attention one way or the other.  The problem is that when they do pay attention material like that from Professor Muirhead is not at the forefront. Let's hope that by posting regular articles to the Huffington Post, they at least can find 'the other side of the story'!! -CG

Bruce Muirhead

Professor

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What the Media Has Wrong About Dairy Farmers

Posted: 08/01/2013 5:21 pm

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With reoccurring and recycled negative commentary about dairy supply management in the Canadian media, one would think that it, and not money, is the root of all evil. I believe that this country's media and punditry is either ill-informed on the merits of the system, or committed to a world view in which data and practical reality have no place.

The question often raised in Canada, and around the world, is this: does dairy supply management, represent a reasonable model through which to license Canadian milk production?

Neoliberal critics like Canada's Conference Board or the CD Howe Institute, and international critics like the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, say no, claiming the system gouges consumers, at least when compared with prices set by "the market," which in their world is rational, objective and infallible. And we have seen where that has gotten us, what with market meltdowns, imposed austerity, and sharply rising unemployment in many countries.

But more to the point, the claim is simply not true. The cost comparison between supply management and the market-determined price is like comparing apples and oranges. When the market sets the price, the direct expense to consumers does not generally reflect the outlays incurred by the farmer. As a result, government must provide billions of dollars worth of subsidies annually to farmers if they are to stay in business.

The critics of supply management do not factor these hidden taxpayer dollars into the cost of a litre of milk. In Canada that is not the case. There is no hidden subsidy provided by Canadian taxpayers to dairy farmers.

By comparison, U.S. subsidies to dairy producers represent about 40% of American dairy farmer incomes, when it reaches them. These subsidies come directly from taxpayers' pockets. Without that hidden support American dairy products would be much more costly for consumers, and much more expensive than the equivalent Canadian product.  See more at: What the Media Has Wrong about Dairy Farmers