News

Soaring milk prices to pinch Canadian pizza profits in ''05

December 20, 2004

TORONTO, Ontario — Without explanation, the Canadian Dairy Commission announced on Dec. 17 that industrial milk prices will increase 11.7 percent by Feb. 1, 2005. The price hike will most certainly boost already-high cheese prices paid by the country's pizza operators.

According to a news release from the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, the price hike will cost Canadian restaurateurs — who purchase more than CAN $2 billion (U.S. $1.62 billion) in dairy products annually — a total of CAN $254 million (U.S. $207 million) per year.

For weeks now the CDC has refused to explain to stakeholders, such as CRFA, how it arrived at the number. The increase will fund BSE compensation for dairy farmers.

"A price hike of this magnitude, made without justification, calls into serious question the credibility of the Canadian Dairy Commission," said Stephanie Jones, CRFA's vice president of food supply. "Taxpayers are being double-billed for BSE compensation now that the CDC has unilaterally decided to hand out this extra cash to dairy farmers. This completely undermines efforts by the federal and provincial governments to determine appropriate levels of compensation for beef and dairy farmers."