The Milk Producer - February 2010 - (Page 26)

ISSUESUPDATE By Sharon Laidlaw and Bill Dimmick Quest For Quota Market growth initiatives seen as one way to help ease pressure Sarab Hans, left, Nissim Avraham and Joe Lanzino spoke optimistically about potential growth for ethnic and functional food markets. However, more work is needed to realize potential dairy market increases. W hen demand outstrips supply, inevitable shortages occur. In Ontario’s dairy industry, where expansion-minded producers are now dealing with the lack of readily available quota for sale, solutions are being sought. Speaking about his own personal views, board member Ian Harrop noted producers appreciate the regulated marketing system that ensures they receive fair returns for their milk. That same system means there is only a given amount of quota to fill the market. Growing markets would put more quota into the system and there are opportunities, said Harrop, who also chairs DFO’s quota committee. However, few of these opportunities are in higher class prices. There are also markets that would pay 20 to 25 cents per litre, he said. “But we don’t want to go there.” Producing milk below cost of production would result in more quota but no more profit for producers, said DFO chair Bill Emmott. He had been asked whether DFO is doing enough to be more price competitive to increase sales and inject more quota into the system. There is a longstanding debate among Canadian producers on volume versus price, he said. “DFO continues to try to walk the middle ground.” One way DFO is trying to grow markets is through the ethnic mar- keting initiative, Emmott said. “The ethnic market is not low-priced and DFO is certainly pursuing it.” “The ethnic market is robust, but the challenge is in identifying demands, marketing support for new products, and getting these products into the hands of consumers,” said Nissim Avraham, DFO’s ethnic market specialist. “More still needs to be done.” The ethnic market is largely made up of Toronto-area Middle Eastern, South Asian, Latin American and East European communities. The South Asian community, in particular, traditionally consumes a lot of milk, said Sarab Hans of Hans Dairy, the largest Ontario dairy specializing in South Asian dairy products. 26 | February 2010 | MilkPRODUCER

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Milk Producer - February 2010

The Milk Producer - February 2010
Contents
Editor's Notes
DFO Chair's Message
Dairy Update
DFC Policy
Industry Roundup
DFC Promotion
Quest for Quota
Issues Update
Research
Applied Science
Ruminations
Markets
New 'N' Noted
Back Forty

The Milk Producer - February 2010