The Chicken Farmers of Ontario marketing board gained the
right to increase production by 5.5 per cent at the most recent meeting of the
Chicken Farmers of Canada national supply-management agency.
The agency has a policy of capping increases at five per
cent, but under a deal that is still under appeal by processors in the three
most westerly provinces, Ontario gets a greater share of production increases
than most other provinces.
Ontario is using much of its increase to introduce policies
and programs to meet the demand for special and niche markets, including
production from farmers who don’t own quota and processors who are new to the
business.
The board says on its website that "Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO)
advanced a fact-based, consumer driven analysis to CFC (the national agency) which made the case that
chicken is now the preferred meat protein, and that the market has undergone a
protein shift driven by consumer attitudes and preferences as well as chicken’s
price advantage over competing meats.
"Also, that the shift will be
sustained and even accelerate with lifestyle and demographic trends, and aided
by the production advantage that chicken enjoys over competing meats,
especially beef.
“CFO urged all industry stakeholders to
work to capitalize on the tailwinds from this shift for sustainable and
profitable growth for chicken.
“Fact-based analysis shows the market is
very tight and needs a higher volume” than the five per cent the national
agency is allocating for the next two six-week production periods, the board
says.
Ontario’s increases will be 56,178,309
eviscerated kilograms for quota period A-135 (January to March) and 57,671,488
eviscerated kilograms for A-136 (March to May).
Ontario remains committed to the two
quota period approach and anticipates that volume allocations for the A-137 and
A-138 quota periods will be set at the February 2, 2016, national agency
meeting, the board says on its website.
