“Evidence suggests fraud,” says the
agency in a recent report.
“Based on production and trade
statistics, Canada is currently importing more spent fowl
breast
meat than is actually produced in the
entire United States,” the agency, Chicken Farmers of
Canada, says.
“Canada imported spent fowl meat
representing 101 per cent of U.S. spent fowl
production in 2012 and has - within the first five months of
2013 - imported the equivalent of 109 per cent of U.S.
spent fowl production.
“This clearly points to the fact that
chicken meat is being imported and declared as
spent fowl in order to bypass import
controls.
“Fraud such as this robs Canada’s
chicken farmers and processors of jobs and revenue that
could – and should – benefit the Canadian economy,”
says the agency.
In 2005, the imports equalled about
five per cent of Canadian broiler chicken production. By 2013, it had soared to
17 per cent.
This is processed chicken, making it
hard for untrained U.S. inspectors – who issue export certificates – and
Canadian Border Services personnel to distinguish between meat from broiler
from meat from spent fowl.
In some cases, it might be mingled to
further confuse the civil servants.
As an example of where this meat ends
up, low-profile Erie Meat Products Ltd. uses much of it to make chicken
wieners.
It’s volume is apparently so great that
it not only serves the Canadian market, but has also developed substantial
export sales.
Erie Meats started in 1997 and now has
four plants besides its main one in Mississauga, including one for poultry at
Listowel.
It also further processes beef and pork
and has all of Canada’s biggest supermarket chains as customers.
If this cheating could be stopped in its tracks, there would be enough demand to increase the right of Ontario quota holders to increase production and satisfy all of the many processors and further processors who have complained for decades that they can't get enough chickens.
It could eliminate the need for plant supply quotas - the rationing of scarce supplies among processors - and free the market for vigorous competition, including innovations to seek out and serve new niche markets.
And there would be more than enough demand to enable all of the small-flock growers to expand beyond the current limit of 300 birds per year to 2,500 without having to shell out a small fortune to buy quota.
