Ed Benjamins of Moorefield lobbied the Senate Committee on
Forestry and Agriculture this week to step up border vigilance on chicken
imports.
The national chicken marketing agency has long complained about
imports labelled as spent fowl, but likely to include significant volumes of
broiler chicken.
Import volumes exceed the total supply of U.S. spent fowl,
the national agency has said.
Benjamins, who spoke for Chicken Farmers of Ontario, also
told the senators that the national agency is asking for changes in what’s
called the 13 per cent rule that some use to circumvent tariffs.
The chicken farmers are also asking for an end to the Duty
Relief and Duty Drawback provisions that enable processors to import U.S.
chicken.
Benjamins said addressing those three issues would increase
the Canadian economy by $600 million and add 8,900 jobs.
He said the chicken industry currently is worth $2.7 billion
a year, employs 19,000 people and generates $400 million in taxes.
He said it’s a growing business, noting that the Ontario board
has implemented several programs to address special markets.
He said 20 growers are enrolled in the Specialty Breeds
program. It features birds that have red feathers that appeal to Asian
consumers.
And he said a kosher processing plant in the Niagara area
will be up and running next year.
