Lino Saputo Jr. says Canada should give up its Class 7 pricing for milk.
Class 7 was introduced by provincial marketing boards in an effort to displace imports. It has, however, also been used to produce milk proteins, such as skim milk powder, that have been exported.
Saputo is Canada’s largest dairy and the only one to openly criticize Class 7 pricing. If it were eliminated, Saputo and others would probably import diafiltered milk from the United States, displacing Canadian milk production.
“They want their cake and they want to eat it too,” Saputo Jr. said in an interview, referring to farmers. “Which doesn’t make sense. You can’t hold onto your milk supply-managed system and have a class of milk that’s competing with world markets at the same time.”
Saputo Jr.’s remarks come after U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, on a visit to Canada on Friday, said he did not see how the countries could go forward in trade talks without an end to Class 7.
