According to a report by colleague Frances Anderson of Ontario Farmer publications, Scott Brookshaw told a zone meeting of egg producers that supermarket-chain specials play havoc with egg demand.
He said a Loblaws' special increased demand five-fold just before Christmas.
And he said now that people have stocked up on eggs, demand has plunged in January.
I wish I had been on the agenda at that meeting. I would have asked Brookshaw whether it was Loblaws that asked for eggs for a special, or if it was L.H. Gray and Son Ltd. offering cheap eggs in return for the retail special that would drive up demand.
That would pave the way for Gray to apply for supplementary import permits from the United States which would be a source or the cheapest eggs Gray could find.
Even at deeply discounted prices, Gray and Loblaws could still make a profit. And the Canadian egg producers would get none of it.
But the Canadian producers would have to foot the bill when retail demand - at regular markups - collapsed in January and the surplus has to be sold to processors at bargain prices.
And guess who owns the processors? Not egg farmers or consumers.
