The permits are a licence to print money because the
European cheeses can be bought at low world prices, enter Canada at relatively
low tariffs and be sold in Canada at relatively high prices because the dairy
industry is protected by some of Canada’s highest tariffs.
Those tariffs exist to protect the market for Canadian dairy
farmers who practice supply management so they don’t produce so much milk that
prices will decline.
According to a story carried today by Canadian Press, Saputo
Inc. of Montreal wants the import permits.
It says only large companies are diversified enough to use
the imports responsibly. It is joined in that lobby by Agropur and Parmalat,
the three largest dairy processing companies in Canada.
Ironically, Saputo argues that if others gain the import
permits, they could drive prices lower and that would threaten the survival of
Canada’s small, artinsenal cheese processors.
The big players want import permits to be handed out to
those who already hold import permits, and on the same market-share basis.
The dairy farmers, through a company they formed, want the
federal government to grant them the import permits.
They would presumably use control of the permits to maintain
the most favourable market environment for dairy farmers.
It would be nice if the Harper government would implement a fully transparent process for doling out these import permits, but that would be totally out of character.
