Negotiations between the Ontario chicken board and
processors appear to have failed because an appeal to the tribunal has been
renewed.
A public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 11 at the board
offices of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food Appeal Tribunal.
The Association of Ontario Chicken Processors is objecting
to a Chicken Farmers of Ontario policy that would allow increased chicken
production for processors who are developing new markets.
The main beneficiaries of the policy would be small-scale
processors who are testing niche markets.
There are, however, two larger-volume processors who want to
use the policy, one to meet the demand for kosher chicken, the other to meet
the Asian-market demand for chickens with head and feet left on.
The AOCP and the CFO are also involved in negotiations on a
new cost-of-production formula that guides chicken pricing.
