Charles Langlois, of the Council of Dairy Industrialists of Quebec, told them that in the next four to five years, the majority of medium-sized companies will disappear, especially if they manufacture products which are similar [to those of] European companies.
Jean Morin, owner of the Fromagerie du Presbytère in Warwick, is worried about the competition facing his cheeses, such as Louis d’Or, because they are sold for twice as much as their European competitors, such as French Comté and Swiss Gruyère.
According to him, the impact of the agreement will lead to a decrease in sales of Canadian products. To the detriment of Canada, we are looking for imported products, he laments.
Charles Trottier who produces organic cheeses at his Fromagerie des Grondines is miffed that he has been allocated permission to import some European cheeses because that would create competition for his own products.
The federal government is administering import quotas arising from trade deals with Europe, the United States and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but Langlois said the small-scale processors don’t have the distribution systems available to competitors, such as Saputo and Agropur, to make use of the permits.
Canada is facing complaints about its handling of the import quotas. The United States, for example, wants retailers, food-service companies and wholesalers to have more access and less for Canadian dairy-processsing companies.
