Saturday, May 18, 2013

Is Nutri-Oeuf now a partner with L.H. Gray & Son Ltd.?




Last year when Nutri-Oeuf bought Best Choice Eggs from Svante Lind, its spokesman insisted to me that neither Burnbrae Farms nor L.H. Gray and Sons Ltd. were in any way involved in the purchase.

He said "we are competitors."

Now, however, comes news that Nutri-Oeuf has likely become a partner with L.H. Gray and Sons Ltd.


Gray owned 60 per cent of Ovale Eggs LLP.

That was before this terse paragraph appeared on the website of the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council:

“Last April,  Nutri-Oeuf Inc. acquired an important part of Ovale Eggs LLP. Nutri-Oeuf Inc. now becomes a partner with GGSS in Ovale Eggs LLP.”

The Nutri-Oeuf purchase of Best Choice Eggs accomplished what Burnbrae and Gray had not been able to do earlier: purchase Best Choice to eliminate it as a competing egg grader in Ontario.

The Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission has finally said it’s going to inquire into the operations of the Egg Farmers of Ontario marketing board and into the industry. It’s going to appoint somebody to conduct the inquiry, but there won’t be any public hearings.

The Competition Bureau in Ottawa is known to be looking into the way Burnbrae and Gray dominate the egg-grading and egg-processing business and whether they do a lot of consulting with each other such as discussing pricing and who will get which retail clients.