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Minister Speller
Addresses SM-4 meeting
Minister Speller addressed a
meeting of the SM-4 on March 24. He began by congratulating
the poultry and egg industry on its success in meeting the
needs of Canadian consumers. Minister Speller noted that the
last year has been a difficult one for agriculture, with the
BSE situation, record low farm income and now the Avian Influenza
outbreak. However, he remains optimistic about agriculture’s
future. Minister Speller spoke about the ongoing WTO
negotiations, re-stating Canada’s support for the supply-managed
sectors, and applauding the efforts of the SM-5 to work with
other countries. He reiterated his commitment to working
closely with all parts of agriculture as the negotiations
progress.
Council Business
Upcoming Council Meeting Re-scheduled
Please note that our next Council
meeting, originally scheduled for April 28 and 29 in Ottawa,
has been changed to May 10, 2004, prior to our May 11 and
12 Forum on Grocery and Food Service Trends.
Chairperson Cynthia Currie Addresses
Agency AGM’s
During the week of March 22-26,
2004 the national agencies held their Annual Meetings in Ottawa.
Council Chair Cynthia Currie addressed meetings of
the Chicken Farmers of Canada, Canadian Turkey Marketing Agency
and Canadian Broiler Hatching Egg Marketing Agency. The focus
of Mrs. Currie’s presentations was an update on Council’s
September 2003 Mission to Brazil. “When it comes to poultry
production, Brazil’s industry is one of the most sophisticated
in the world. State-of-the-art facilities have been built
with the express intent of competing on world markets”,
Mrs. Currie noted. For more information on the findings of
the Brazil mission, please see our report at nfpc-cnpa.gc.ca/Brazilreport.pdf.
Mrs. Currie also spoke about the need to educate Canadians
about our supply management system, so that the system can
be better understood and its benefits to all regions of Canada
more appreciated.
Council Vice Chair Ron O’Connor addressed the
Canadian Egg Marketing Agency’s Annual Meeting. He spoke
about the importance of producers working together to preserve
the supply management system.
Re-appointment of Council Member
Maurice Giguère
Minister Bob Speller
has re-appointed Maurice Giguère to Council
for an additional three years. Mr. Giguère has been
a Council Member since 2001. He brings a diversity of knowledge
to our Council table, being past president of l’Association
des abattoirs avicoles du Québec, and a former board
member of CTMA and CPEPC, and the Association des manufacturiers
de produits alimentaires du Québec. Council Chair Cynthia
Currie noted, “Maurice has been an invaluable asset
to our Council Board and we are very happy about his re-appointment.”
March 23 Council Meeting
Council met in Ottawa on March
23, 2004. At the meeting, Council prior-approved the following
orders and regulations:
- Canadian Egg Marketing Levies Order - For the Period Ending
July 31, 2004
- Amendment to the Canadian Egg Marketing Quota Regulations,
1986 - Allocation for the Period Beginning December 28,
2003 and Ending July 31, 2004
- Amendment to the Canadian Broiler Hatching Egg Marketing
Levies Order
- Amendment to the Canadian Turkey Marketing Quota Regulations,
1990 - Revised Allocation for the Period
Beginning May 1, 2003 and Ending April 24, 2004
Council was also updated on the Avian Influenza situation
in British Columbia (see item below).
Egg Complaint Hearings
On March 17 and 18, Council
held hearings into complaints by the British Columbia and
Saskatchewan egg signatories against CEMA. Industry discussions
on the first day resulted in an agreement being reached that
made it possible for the British Columbia signatories to withdraw
their complaint.
The Complaints Committee, made up of Council Chair Cynthia
Currie, and Members Anne Chong Hill and Maurice
Giguère, heard Saskatchewan’s complaint the
following day. The Committee is in the process of preparing
its report, and expects to present it to the full Council
at its meeting of May 10, 2004. The report will also be circulated
to all signatories to the Egg Plan.
Turkey Complaint
As stated in our January edition
of Focus, on December 17, 2003 the B.C. signatories to the
Federal-Provincial Agreement filed a complaint with Council
against the CTMA for failure to provide a market-responsive
allocation process that complies with the provisions contained
in the Proclamation.
In reviewing the complaint, Council strongly encouraged the
Agency to reconvene its members for the exclusive purpose
of resolving B.C.’s and others’ concerns. The CTMA
held a Directors’ meeting February 19 and 20. Their subsequent
report to Council noted that the February meeting resulted
in a decision to develop a revised allocation methodology.
Proposals regarding a new allocation methodology were discussed
at the Agency's March 23-25 meetings and will be further reviewed
at an April 6-7 meeting.
Chicken Complaint
Leg Quarter Co-efficient - CPEPC has withdrawn
its complaint against CFC with regard to the co-efficient
for leg quarters under the Market Development Policy. January’s
Focus noted that CPEPC had filed a complaint regarding CFC's
decision to reduce the coefficient for leg quarters from 125%
to 112%. The CPEPC requested the hearing after the two parties
failed to resolve their differences. After consulting with
both parties, Council set a hearing date for March 9, 2004.
On February 26, 2004, CPEPC requested a postponement of the
hearing. This resulted from a decision by CFC's Market Development
Committee to recommend to the Board of Directors at their
March meeting that they reconsider the leg quarter coefficient
reduction. At that meeting, the CFC Board of Directors unanimously
voted to maintain the leg quarter coefficient at 125%. The
CPEPC subsequently informed Council that it was withdrawing
its complaint.
Sunrise Poultry - On February 24, 2004, Council
received a complaint from Sunrise Poultry Processors Ltd.
of British Columbia regarding CFC's decision to assess penalties
for under-exporting in Allocation Periods A-53 and A-54. At
the request of Sunrise Poultry Processors, the appeal will
be held in abeyance until the completion of internal industry
discussions in B.C.
NAASA Meeting May 11 in Conjunction
with Forum on Grocery and Food Service Trends
More details have been finalized
for our May 11 and 12 activities, to be held at the Fairmont
Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa. Gordon Butland of Rabobank
International will give a global poultry industry update at
a breakfast event on May 11 for poultry industry participants.
The National Association of Agri-food Supervisory Agencies
(NAASA) will meet that afternoon.
he Forum on Grocery and Food Service Trends begins that evening
with a dinner reception and keynote speaker. The next day,
an outstanding list of presenters will inform us, challenge
us and engage us in discussion. The balance of keynote speakers,
panel and small group discussions should foster a better appreciation
of the different industry sectors and catalyse the development
of future scenarios to enhance awareness, productivity and
recognition of potential profitability in the industry.
All invitations to the Forum have been sent out. Those invited
include representatives of the four national marketing agencies,
all provincial commodity boards, the two processor associations,
NAASA, the grocery and distribution industries and others.For
more information on these events, please contact Chantal
Lafontaine or Louise Séguin at (613) 995-6752.
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March 2004
Agency News
CFC to Meet regarding Allocation
Process
CFC has scheduled a special meeting
on April 6 and 7 to discuss improvements to the allocation
setting process.
CTMA Celebrates 30th Anniversary
CTMA was created by a federal
government proclamation in February 1974. Since then, the
Agency has worked to represent the interests of its 550 turkey
producers. At a 30th Anniversary luncheon on March 25, CTMA
Chairperson Brent Montgomery noted, “We owe a
great deal to those, past and present, who work to make CTMA
and our member Boards stronger and better organizations.”
He concluded, “I urge us all to remember what we have,
how we got it, and think about how we will ensure the strength
of CTMA in the future.” Our congratulations to CTMA on
their 30th Anniversary.
Recent CEMA Board Meetings
At a March 19 meeting, the CEMA
Board enacted interim quota and levies orders, both of which
expire on July 31, 2004. The quota was set at the same number
of dozens as in 2003, except for the addition of Eggs for
Processing Quota in Alberta, which was set at 610,000 dozen.
This translates into 25,000 layers.
The national levy was set at 25 cents per dozen, the same
rate as in 2003. During the meeting, the Agency reported that
the Pooled Income Fund is projected to end the year at $41.1
million. This is a significant improvement from the beginning
of 2003, when the Fund stood at a deficit of $88,000.
CBHEMA Board Meeting
During three days of meetings
last week the Agency revised its estimated 2004 allocation
to 598.6 million eggs and will be setting its final 2004 allocation
at its summer meeting in Winnipeg in July. The Agency set
its initial allocation for 2005 at 613.3 million eggs.
The Agency also enacted its levies order, which is effective
from March 28, 2004 to March 26, 2005. The national levy remains
the same as last year at $0.0022 per broiler hatching egg.
During the meetings, the Alberta Hatching Egg Producers gave
notice to the Agency of their intent to withdraw from the
Federal-Provincial Agreement for Broiler Hatching Eggs, the
Comprehensive Broiler Hatching Egg Marketing Program and the
Canadian Broiler Hatching Egg Marketing Agency.
The withdrawal will be effective December 1, 2004. Written
concurrence with the Alberta Hatching Egg Producers’
decision was received from the Minister of Alberta Agriculture,
Food and Rural Development, the Minister of Alberta International
and Intergovernmental Relations and from Alberta's Agriculture
Products Marketing Council.
Canadian Beef Cattle Research, Market
Development and Promotion Agency
During their annual meeting
on March 23, five provinces signed agreements with the National
Beef Agency to collect interprovincial levies.
These provinces are British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba,
Ontario and New Brunswick. Once the remaining provinces have
signed similar agreements the Agency can pursue levying imported
beef and beef products.
Agency Executives Elected
Canadian Egg Marketing Agency
Chairman: Laurent Souligny (Ontario)
1st Vice-chair: Gordon Hunter (N.B.)
2nd Vice-chair: Harold Froese (Man.)
Exec. Member: Maurice Richard (QC)
Canadian Turkey Marketing Agency
Chairman: Brent Montgomery (Quebec)
Vice-chair: Mark Davies (Nova Scotia)
Exec. Member: Wayne Kroeker (Man.)
Canadian Broiler Hatching Egg Marketing Agency
Chairman: Ed De Jong (B.C.)
Vice-Chair: Gyslain Loyer (Quebec)
Chicken Farmers of Canada
Chairman: David Fuller (Nova Scotia)
1st Vice-chair: Martin Dufresne (QC)
2nd Vice-chair: Tom Posthuma (ON)
Executive Member: Remi Cyr (Alberta)
Congratulations to all on their election.
Industry News
Avian Influenza
March 24, 2004, the Canadian
Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced that it would depopulate
all remaining flocks in the high-risk region of British Columbia’s
Fraser Valley. The decision followed the detection on March
23 of avian influenza on two farms, bringing the total number
of infected premises in the high-risk region to five. A sixth
farm was identified on March 29.
The depopulation is intended to contain further disease spread
by eliminating the pool of infection and susceptible birds
present in the high-risk region. The CFIA is working with
provincial counterparts to address outstanding issues related
to biosecurity, transportation and disposal. Activities will
commence as soon as these discussions are complete. Approximately
275,000 birds will be destroyed and removed from 10 farms
and 33 smaller flocks. All owners of birds depopulated will
be compensated under the Health of Animals Act. Household
pet birds are not being targeted for destruction, unless they
show signs of disease.
As the situation continues to evolve on a day-to-day basis,
additional information can be found on CFIA’s website
at:
www.inspection.gc.ca
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