Cheese: Why no choice? So expensive!

[Army Guy]

On 2/24/2025 at 12:02 PM, User said:

This is so backwards.

Canada forces quotas to control prices, which drives up the cost of all dairy products. They have import quotas and pretty much outright block US from selling any dairy at all. 

What the US does is buy excess production in America at going market rates so the dairy industry doesn't completely collapse due to insanely cheap prices. 

Not even saying what America does is great, but it is certainly vastly better than what Canada is doing and that is why your prices are higher and why all the Canadians I know near the border purchase a ton of dairy products down here when they do along with picking up all their packages they have shipped to border communities... 

 

 

It is true Canada does control pricing and they do have import quotas, but according to data the US market has failed to meet those quotas for free trade under USMCA agreements....the question should be why...If they are not meeting the free exchange of dairy goods, there is no real reason to complain about the high tariffs, which are ridiculous to start with ranging around 300 % more. 

Here in Canada if a farmer exceeds his quota of milk produced, they dump it in the drain...however they pay for said quota and it is not cheap...you can under produce your quota but not sell any milk over your quota.

As for crossing the border i know dozens of people that do just that for many food items, dairy is one of them, i used to drive to St Stevens NB about 45 min drive from my home buy food , milk and cheese, and gas up and return home and still save on those bills...even with the exchange rate....have not done it in a while but lots of people still doing it, the savings are not what the used to be..

I find American milk taste better...

https://farmonaut.com/canada/usmca-dairy-trade-5-key-impacts-on-us-canada-tariffs

Quote

 

President Donald Trump correctly noted that Canada maintains tariffs above 200% on certain dairy products imported from the US. However, it’s crucial to understand that these high tariffs only apply to imports exceeding the duty-free quota limits established by the USMCA. Within these quotas, US dairy products can enter Canada without facing such prohibitive tariffs.

Interestingly, as acknowledged by the US dairy industry, American exporters have not been hitting their allowed zero-tariff maximum in any category of dairy products. In many categories, including milk, US exports are not even reaching half of the zero-tariff quota. This underutilization suggests that factors beyond tariffs are influencing the dairy trade dynamics between the two countries.

 

 

[herbie]

You're arguing with a guy that supports tariffs which drive up prices and reduce competition and consumer choice with not a single benefit to anyone.
As you pointed out, they were given a quota and haven't even used it. MOF they used a loophole for shredded cheese to dominate the pizza supply here and pretend that 'doesn't count'.

Take allok at the similar Egg Marketing Boards, where here in the boonies where we pay 'Alaska" prices, they never passed $6 Cdn a dozen. Oooo hurst us just s much.... NOT

Make a better product and maybe if we ever stop going out of our way not to buy American again, you may have a valid gripe. Instead of believing every word that lying sack of shit President pulls out of his arse as truth.

[August1991]

Herbie,

This issue may break federal Canada as we know it:

https://nationalpost.com/news/senate-passes-bill-to-protect-supply-management-from-any-future-trade-deals

International Trade? Let's see.

IMHO, federal institutions are unanimously passing a law to favour one region (while the law hurts all other regions).

When Pierre Trudeau managed to pass his 1968 Bilingual Act, it was not unanimous. 

 

 

[CdnFox]

50 minutes ago, August1991 said:

Herbie,

This issue may break federal Canada as we know it:

https://nationalpost.com/news/senate-passes-bill-to-protect-supply-management-from-any-future-trade-deals

International Trade? Let's see.

IMHO, federal institutions are unanimously passing a law to favour one region (while the law hurts all other regions).

When Pierre Trudeau managed to pass his 1968 Bilingual Act, it was not unanimous. 

 

 

Supply management is indeed going to be a sticky subject.  The so called "milk mafia" is a powerful lobby group and exerts a strong political presence all across the country. 

[August1991]

19 minutes ago, CdnFox said:

Supply management is indeed going to be a sticky subject.  The so called "milk mafia" is a powerful lobby group and exerts a strong political presence all across the country. 

All federal parties (without exception) voted for this.

To my knowledge, no single sitting federal house member, no single federal senator voted against.

======

This is your tell that an institution is corrupt. 

[August1991]

I suspect that the BQ (and the PQ) want to expose the corrupt federal system.

[CdnFox]

6 hours ago, August1991 said:

All federal parties (without exception) voted for this.

To my knowledge, no single sitting federal house member, no single federal senator voted against.

======

This is your tell that an institution is corrupt. 

Well it's not a test of whether or not the institution is corrupt or not so facto. I mean I'm sure they would all agree to keep the military too that doesn't mean the military is corrupt. It probably is but that's not an indication of it.

It does however mean that the industry plays a strong role in their writings and they don't want to go against them. One does not easily oppose the milk mafia

[August1991]

On 6/21/2025 at 10:50 AM, CdnFox said:

Well it's not a test of whether or not the institution is corrupt or not so facto. I mean I'm sure they would all agree to keep the military too that doesn't mean the military is corrupt. It probably is but that's not an indication of it.

It does however mean that the industry plays a strong role in their writings and they don't want to go against them. One does not easily oppose the milk mafia.

....

I kinda disagree.

If every sitting member votes for something, I reckon the fix is in - certainly on a money, trade vote.

[August1991]

People in Alberta and Saskatchewan cannot sell their oil abroad.

And they cannot buy milk/cheese from abroad.

This regime is not sustainable.

[CdnFox]

44 minutes ago, August1991 said:

I kinda disagree.

If every sitting member votes for something, I reckon the fix is in - certainly on a money, trade vote.

Well it probably just means that their constituents for the most part want them to vote a certain way. Or at least their base does, It doesn't mean there's anything unethical or fixed going on.

Employee management is something that's near and dear to an awful lot of people and like I said the milk Mafia it's a very strong political force with both parties and supply management is an extremely integrated portion of our economy right now. It would be possible to untangle it but no small matter. It's kind of like neither party would support abandoning or abolishing unions, it would be political death.

 

[August1991]

On 6/23/2025 at 1:30 AM, CdnFox said:

Well it probably just means that their constituents for the most part want them to vote a certain way. Or at least their base does, It doesn't mean there's anything unethical or fixed going on.

....

 

Unethical?

[CdnFox]

1 hour ago, August1991 said:

Unethical?

Sorry, was that word too big for you? Let's just go with "bad" then. 

[Aristides]

On 2/24/2025 at 8:02 AM, User said:

This is so backwards.

Canada forces quotas to control prices, which drives up the cost of all dairy products. They have import quotas and pretty much outright block US from selling any dairy at all. 

What the US does is buy excess production in America at going market rates so the dairy industry doesn't completely collapse due to insanely cheap prices. 

Not even saying what America does is great, but it is certainly vastly better than what Canada is doing and that is why your prices are higher and why all the Canadians I know near the border purchase a ton of dairy products down here when they do along with picking up all their packages they have shipped to border communities... 

 

 

The import quotas were negotiated by Trump in the last FTA. Tariffs are charged on US product above those quotas. There no tariffs on Canadian product above the quotas because they are outright banned from entering the US. US exports to Canada have never reached those quotas and Canada imports almost twice as much dairy from the US than it exports to the US.

Our quota system ensures user pay, Canadian farmers receive no subsidies from government.

[User]

2 minutes ago, Aristides said:

 There no tariffs on Canadian product above the quotas because they are outright banned from entering the US. US exports to Canada have never reached those quotas and Canada imports almost twice as much dairy from the US than it exports to the US.

You just contradicted yourself. 

 

[Aristides]

18 minutes ago, User said:

You just contradicted yourself. 

 

How?

[herbie]

Just had some really decent Canadian made Provolone. Just as sharp and tasty as the stuff imported from Italy my grandparents had when I was little.
Unlike the tasteless shit pawned off as Provolone in most grocery stores.

Hoping the dropping of interprovincial trade barriers will bring NoveScotia Dragon's Breath blue cheese to BC soon.

[CdnFox]

18 minutes ago, herbie said:

Just had some really decent Canadian made Provolone. Just as sharp and tasty as the stuff imported from Italy my grandparents had when I was little.
Unlike the tasteless shit pawned off as Provolone in most grocery stores.

Hoping the dropping of interprovincial trade barriers will bring NoveScotia Dragon's Breath blue cheese to BC soon.

It might if we ever get there, but sadly we're not making a lot of headway. That has got to be one of the stupidest things we've ever done as a country, put up more trade barriers provincially than we have with other countries.

[paxamericana]

Canada👏is👏not👏a👏country. It’s a unincorporated territory of the United States. Inhabited by Americans with a mental health disorder claiming to be non-American that sometimes speak French.

[Aristides]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/illegal-immigrants-us-jobs-economy-farm-workers-taxes/

 

 

Quote

 

In 2017 research conducted by the Cornell Farmworker Program, 30 New York dairy farmers told us they turned to undocumented workers because they were unable to find and keep reliable U.S. citizens to do the jobs. That's in part because farm work can be physically demanding, dirty and socially denigrated work. More importantly, it is one the most dangerous occupations in the U.S. 

A study commissioned by the dairy industry suggested that if federal labor and immigration policies reduced the number of foreign-born workers by 50 percent, more than 3,500 dairy farms would close, leading to a big drop in milk production and a spike in prices of about 30 percent. Total elimination of immigrant labor would increase milk prices by 90 percent.

 

 

 

 

It's depressing how many Canadians are so quick to shit on their own country without bothering to ask why American producers can operate with lower prices.

Edited Wednesday at 09:42 PM by Aristides

[CdnFox]

3 hours ago, paxamericana said:

Canada👏is👏not👏a👏country. It’s a unincorporated territory of the United States. Inhabited by Americans with a mental health disorder claiming to be non-American that sometimes speak French.

You're holding your map sideways again. That's California you're looking at  

( they say the american school system is trash but where's the proof? LOL)