Chicken Farmers of Canada has signed a new 10 year quota allocation agreement to increase production across the country.
All member provinces will receive more quota, but provinces with fast growing populations, particularly Alberta and Ontario, could get more.
A tentative agreement was reached last summer and the provinces were allowed to increase production at that time, said David Janzen, chair of the national organization.
The debate over providing more quota to some parts of the country, known as differential growth, had been on the table for six years.
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Alberta Chicken Producers protested an allocation that was based on national supply rather than taking into account higher demand in the province. It withdrew from the national scheme last year but has agreed to the new agreement.
The latest allocation was decided Nov. 19 and offers 3.5 percent more production starting Feb. 22, which translates into 170 million kilograms.
“The market has been very positive from a competitive need,” said Mike Dungate, executive director of Chicken Farmers of Canada.
“Increasing prices of beef and pork and lower supplies have created a really positive market for us.”
Chicken consumption has in-creased steadily for several decades, and the organization wants to keep the consumer price at a reasonable level. The retail price of chicken in-creased three percent in the last year compared to beef and pork, which increased by 14 to 16 percent.
Hatcheries already plan to increase their output by three percent for the coming year.
“It affects related industries all the way down the chain: hatcheries, hatching egg producers, feed companies. You are going to be raising more birds,” said Janzen.
The industry has also benefitted from lower feed prices, which is a large input cost for the industry.
“The live price that we are selling chicken for is now the lowest in four years. That is a result of feed prices going down, ” said Dun gate. “That does not relate into lowering retail prices.”
To decide on allocation, farmers meet with processors and the restaurant sector every eight weeks to determine demand.
The decision is also linked to regular analysis of Canadian meat and food consumption.
barbara.duckworth@producer.com
