HALIFAX – Canada needs a national food policy designed by industry players with an economic stake in the outcome and a common goal of industry prosperity, says a Maple Leaf Foods vice-president.
Rory McAlpine told a panel discussion on value chains during the Canadian Federation of Agriculture semi-annual meeting July 29 that the Canadian food industry from farmer to processor and exporter has been buffeted by unforeseen changes and crises in recent years.
A strong Canadian dollar, food safety crises, hostile regulations that increase Canadian costs, increased imports and low margins in many sectors are challenges for the industry, he said.
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The solution is to work together.
“We face a new climate of shared risk and opportunity,” said McAlpine. “Only the fittest value chains will survive and prosper.”
He said all links in the chain have an interest in creating the most efficient, competitive system.
And while consumer and societal views on food must be taken into account and government will have an interest, he said key decisions about how the food industry works must be made by those with an economic stake.
He noted that a number of efforts are underway to create a new national food policy, including work by the CFA, the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute and the Conference Board of Canada.
He said with the rise of the Canadian dollar to near parity with American currency, continued currency volatility, the listeria food crisis of several years ago and increased retail competition from giants such as Walmart, the food industry has been facing increased imports and the loss of 10,000 jobs in the food processing industry alone.
McAlpine said Maple Leaf’s reaction has been to streamline its system, close down plants and plan to invest $1 billion in plant upgrading and expansion.
At least one farmer in the room wasn’t sure where farmers fit in.
Arlynn Kurtz, a director with the Agricultural Producers’ Association of Saskatchewan, complained that the Maple Leaf decision to concentrate its hog slaughter operations on the Prairies in Brandon with the closing of a Saskatoon plant is killing the Saskatchewan hog industry.
“It put the last nail in our hog industry,” he said. “If it was so cost effective for you, why don’t you pay the freight to Manitoba?”
McAlpine said it was necessary to consolidate the kill operation in Brandon to make it competitive and that included closing facilities. “Those are the realities of the new business model.”
He said Maple Leaf will be concentrating other parts of the business in plants around the country, including a bacon operation in North Battleford.
