WESTERN DAIRY COUNCIL
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • What We Do
    • Who We Work With
  • Processing Industry
  • Our Members
  • Become A Member
  • EVENTS
    • 2025 GOLF TOURNAMENT
    • 2024 GOLF TOURNAMENT
  • Our People
    • Board of Directors
    • Regional Committees
  • News
  • Contact

news & updates

Arbitrary Fees Imposed by Large Grocery Retailers Will Cost Canadian Consumers and Impact Canada’s Food Security

8/28/2020

 
Joint Statement by Farming and Processing Associations

(Ottawa) August 6th, 2020 - The latest round of fees introduced by large grocery retailers on their suppliers has attracted coverage in the news media over the past week (for examples, see here and here).  This is occurring at a time when farmers and food and beverage processors are already facing a complex web of arbitrary fees and penalties in their relationships with large grocery retailers, in addition to managing the on-going impact of Covid-19 on Canada’s food system. 
 
Arbitrary fees and penalties imposed by large grocery retailers on Canadian farmers and food and beverage processors negatively impact Canadian consumers as it results in lower investments and product innovation. Requiring food and beverage suppliers to cover the cost of investments in retail stores will come at the expense of the farmers’ and  processors' own investments in their Canadian facilities. What’s more, it will also reduce revenues for Canadian farmers. There is no scenario under which these arbitrary fees and penalties will benefit Canadians. On the contrary, they will ultimately impact Canada’s food security, as small and mid-sized farms and food processors already struggle to continue participating in this retail environment. 
 
An ever more concentrated and powerful retail sector versus a food production and processing sector that is being weakened to unsustainable levels was precisely what led the UK Government in 2009 to intervene and legislate against inappropriate practices through the introduction of a ‘Groceries Supply Code of Practice’.  
 
This is an issue of strategic importance for Canada's food security. We therefore call on the federal and provincial governments to implement a code of practice in Canadato check this arbitrary conduct from large grocery retailers, review all current fees, penalties, and after sale deductions, and to protect Canada’s agri-food sectors. Governments must heed the lessons of the successful UK experience in rebalancing competitive forces in the food sector. In the words of the U.K. Competition Commission 2008 final report on supplies of groceries:  “...we found that the transfer of excessive risk and unexpected costs by grocery retailers to their suppliers through various supply chain practices if unchecked will have an adverse effect on investment and innovation in the supply chain, and ultimately on consumers.”

                                                                                      -30-

Joint statement by Farming and Processing Associations: 
Canadian Federation of Agriculture
Canadian Beverage Association
Food and Consumer Products of Canada
Dairy Processors Association of Canada
Food and Beverage Canada
Canadian Horticultural Council
Baking Association of Canada

Comments are closed.

    Author

    News and Articles are posted by Members of the Western Dairy Council.

    Archives

    September 2023
    March 2023
    November 2022
    June 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    September 2017
    August 2017

    Categories

    All
    COVID-19
    DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS
    ECHO NEWSLETTERS
    NAFTA
    VITALUS AND GAY LEA FOODS ANNOUNCE PLANS FOR NEW PROCESSING IN MANITOBA

    RSS Feed

HOME
ABOUT
INDUSTRY
MEMBERS
BECOME A MEMBER
OUR PEOPLE
MEMBERS ONLY
NEWS
CONTACT

DAIRY PROCESSORS...A part of your life for generations!

Picture
©2025 l Western Dairy Council  l  site Egami Creative
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • What We Do
    • Who We Work With
  • Processing Industry
  • Our Members
  • Become A Member
  • EVENTS
    • 2025 GOLF TOURNAMENT
    • 2024 GOLF TOURNAMENT
  • Our People
    • Board of Directors
    • Regional Committees
  • News
  • Contact