A mediator is involved in pricing negotiations between the Chicken Farmers of Ontario marketing board and the Association of Ontario Chicken Processors.
Ray Nickel, a director on the B.C. chicken marketing board, told a recent meeting of growers that the Ontario pricing formula is likely to end up before the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal.
All provinces set their chicken prices relative to Ontario, so there is keen nation-wide interest by both farmers and processors, many of them operating facilities in more than one province.
British Columbia’s growers and processors are both unhappy with their interim pricing which is 95 per cent of the cost of production plus 75 per cent of the difference in feed costs in British Columbia and the national average.
The cost of production is Ontario’s figure.
The farmers want 100 per cent of the feed cost differential; the processors want a three-year fixed price six cents a kilogram above the Ontario price.
Hatching egg producers in B.C. also price at 95 per cent of their cost of production, but many wish the board would insist on 100 per cent.
Their general manager, Bill Vanderspek, is advising them to refrain from rocking the boat.
