Feed costs have increased by 21 per cent from the
year-to-date average, triggering a cost-of-production formula increase of 11.9
cents per kilogram when chicken farmers begin shipping birds after Nov. 4 in
quota period A-113.
But the board says it is “temporarily buffering the impact”
and taking an increase of 9.9 cents, which puts the base price at $1.73 per
kilogram liveweight.
The board also notes in a special-edition newsletter to producers
that it realizes they have been paying higher feed costs during the current
six-week quota period without any market-price relief.
The same sharply-rising feed costs are going to hit all
supply-management commodities – milk, eggs and hatching eggs.
What that will do to downstream customers remains to be
seen.
In the hog and beef industries, many farmers simply can’t
afford the higher feed costs and are shipping their livestock to market. That
depresses market prices and increases losses.
Two of Canada’s largest hog-producing companies have
declared bankruptcy and more will inevitably be following.
