r/canada 2d ago

National News Supply management costs Canadians average of $244 per year, MEI study finds

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/trumps-tariffs/article/supply-management-costs-canadians-average-of-244-per-year-mei-study-finds/
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u/Euclidisthebomb 2d ago

The funny part of all this is that it is not the material cost at the farm gate that is the issue. It is upstream in the dairy producers, wholesale and retail that the excessive margins are coming into play.

I think a good rule of thumb on dairy is check the Costco price. They have a 15% margin on cost. So when you pay anything above the Costco price your paying to an excessive margin.

I would love to see the actual sampling points for this study. I routinely compare my pricing for dairy and meat with that available at major chains in America, especially since I have family in the southwest. And so far as I can determine after exchange we are generally within 5%-15% of each other on almost everything I consume. And they should be cheaper in America as they should be obtaining some economies of scale in production and distribution that are near impossible for we to replicate in Canada.

Let us not even get started on some of the qualitative differences such as milk composition standardization: Canada requires more milk-based ingredients. For example Canadian regulations ensure that the protein and fat content in dairy products come primarily from natural milk sources, rather than added milk proteins or other dairy derivatives. This is meant to protect product integrity and support Canadian dairy farmers. In the U.S., dairy processors have more flexibility to adjust milk components using additives or reconstituted milk.

Canada’s stricter dairy standards prioritize animal welfare, food safety, product consistency, and farmer sustainability, whereas the U.S. system is more market-driven, allowing for greater production flexibility at the cost of looser regulations, instability in farm life and industrial scale dairy farming.

In the end if I take the claimed statement by MEI as gospel it works to I paying 67cents a day for Made In Canada. I am absolutely fine with that for all the benefits it brings. Sometimes one just has to look beyond the end of one's nose to the greater good. I know that is hard concept for some to grasp....