The
Ontario chicken
marketing
board says Yorkshire Valley Farms is making progress to become a new
entrant in the processing sector.
Yorkshire
Valley Farms intends to process for the organic chicken market.
Earlier
this year it
was
conditionally granted new entrant chicken processor status following
a comprehensive and extensive due diligence review process conducted
by
a third-party business and financial consultancy for the directors
of the Chicken Farmers of Ontario marketing board.
There
are limited supplies of chicken for a keen demand from processors, so
the chicken board allocates supplies from its member growers to each
approved processing plant.
Yorkshire Valley is working towards a fall deadline to complete the commitments it has made to the board.
“Our
success depends upon our ability to understand consumers, markets,
our food customers and fellow industry-value chain stakeholders,
and to ensure that we are responsive to their evolving needs,” said
board
chairman
Henry Zantingh.
“We
recognize the ongoing need to support our Ontario industry to meet
the changing consumer demands for different types of chicken,
“Consumer
tastes are evolving, becoming more diverse and distinct. Organic has
been identified as a distinct market segment as well as one of the
fastest growing market segments, and we see it as a key strategic
building block in helping grow the Ontario industry.”
The
board also said recently that it is working with business interests
who are exploring the potential to establish a kosher
chicken-processing plant. The only one Ontario had was bought out a
couple of years ago by Sargent Farms which does not process for the
kosher market. Sargent wanted the company’s access to
chickens.
“Ontario has a rich tradition of growing and processing premium quality chicken and further investment by the new entrant processor Yorkshire Valley Farms will enhance the ability of our industry to meet consumer demand by providing locally grown, locally processed,
organic chicken,” said Rob Dougans, board
president
and chief
executive officer.
“CFO’s
goal is to drive strategic, sustainable economic growth by being
responsive to, and consistently meeting, consumer demand and
increasing chicken’s market share of consumer meat protein
consumption,” Dougans
said.
“This announcement also demonstrates the importance of building and implementing supply management policies and programs that can stimulate new industry development and investment, and which can continue to support and nurture the entrepreneurial energies and economic growth ambitions of the Ontario chicken industry.
Each year CFO advances a strategic market to be served by an approved new entrant processor.
CFO
designated organic as the strategic market segment that should be
served by new processor entrants with applications in 2015 / 2016.
