The Dairy Farmers of Canada have demanded that no increase in the price of milk be granted to them, in order to give a boost to Canadians discouraged by prices at the grocery store.
In a statement released last Friday, the association representing the country’s dairy industry pointed out that, according to calculations by the Canadian Dairy Commission (CCL), it would be justified to increase the farm price of milk by 1.77 %.
However, the producers affirmed that they were ready to do without this increase “until further notice”.
“Aware of the current level of food inflation and in solidarity with all Canadians, we recommended to the Canadian Dairy Commission to delay the application of the milk price adjustment,” commented the president of the Dairy Farmers of Canada , David Wiens.
He urged other players in the sector, such as processors and grocery stores, to also campaign for maintaining the price of milk at the current price.
“We hope that our decision will encourage these other players to keep the price of dairy products at their current level at a time when food inflation is hovering around 9%,” Mr Wiens said.
Last year, the CDC decreed a 2.2% increase in the farm price of milk, which resulted in an increase of 1.74 cents per liter.
Milk consumption tends to stagnate in the country with a slight drop in consumption of 0.6% between July 2022 and July 2023, according to the latest CCL data available. Consumption of yogurt and butter is also down, data offset by increases for cream, cheese and ice cream.
In Quebec, the price of milk is set by the Régie des Marchés Agricole et Alimentaires. The price of a liter of 2% milk is currently set at a minimum of $2 and a maximum of $2.17, amounts which rise in remote regions and the Magdalen Islands.