Dairy and poultry farmers will be included in consultation process
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
Minister of Agriculture Lawrence MacAulay announced the Canadian government will conduct a series of consultations to support Canada’s supply-managed sectors.
The consultations will focus on the Duties Relief and Import for Re-Export programs, which allow companies to import goods without paying duties as long as those goods are exported later.
A Ministry of Agriculture release states that earlier in the year, Canada Border Services Agency found some organizations weren’t in compliance with the programs. In the release, the federal government said those companies have been properly disciplined with penalties and licence suspensions. The upcoming discussions will further the support for dairy and poultry farmers.
“The Government strongly supports supply management,” Minister of Agriculture Lawrence MacAulay said in a release. “We will continue to work with dairy and poultry stakeholders across the value chain to ensure effective border controls for supply-managed goods, while allowing processors to remain competitive.”
In addition to the program consultations, the government will look at certification requirements when it comes to spent fowl. It’s alleged some importers declare broiler chicken meat as spent fowl meat.
“Our farmers and processors have been afflicted by leakages in the market that have been occurring for many years now, meaning they face uncertainty in their own production, and consumers face uncertainty in the safety of their food,” Dave Janzen, chair of Chicken Farmers of Canada said in a CFC release. “We are hopeful that a meaningful consultation process will result in changes benefitting the chicken sector in Canada, and all Canadians.”
The Ministry of Agriculture said it will study a DNA test developed by Trent University that’s able to distinguish broiler meat from spent fowl meat.