Canadians are buying more chicken, so the national
marketing agency is aiming to increase production by five per cent over
year-earlier levels.
That makes it six consecutive six-week quota periods
that Chicken Farmers of Canada has approved a five per cent increase.
Ontario’s increase under a new formula for dividing
the national pie into provincial shares is 5.6 per cent.
Ontario made a strong case for continuing to produce
more chicken during the national agency’s recent meetingl
“Chicken Farmers of Ontario’s analysis of market data
across multiple distribution channels shows the market has been undergoing a
‘quiet transformation’.” the Ontario board says on its website.
“Chicken has overtaken beef as the meat of choice and
continues to gain ground at a rapid pace. The most drastic change has been
taking place in the food service channel through 2014 and 2015.”
The corresponding volumes for Ontario are 58,171,394
eviscerated kilograms for A-137 (May 15 to July 9) and 57,570,967 eviscerated
kilograms for A-138 (July 10 to Sept. 3).
The year-to-date growth in allocated volume for
Ontario (A-135 to A-138) versus a comparable time frame in 2015 is 5.3%.
Ontario has been using much of its growth to start
production for niche and specialty markets via programs that include production
opportunities for farmers who do not hold quota and for new processing
companies.
The Association of Ontario Chicken Processors has
filed an appeal and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
Appeal Tribunal has arranged for three days of public hearings beginning March
30 at its hearing room at 1 Stone Road, Guelph.
