The national chicken agency is increasing production targets for this fall,
noticing strong demand because prices for beef and pork are
relatively high.
The
increase is two per cent for early fall and three per cent heading
into the Christmas season.
Ontario’s
targets have been set higher than the national average at 2.5 and 3.6
per cent.
That’s
in keeping with a new national policy that allocates more of any
production increases to Ontario, partially satisfying the province’s
long-standing complaints that it has been chronically short of
chicken.
In
the past the shortage led to purchasing battles and significant
premiums.
That
was resolved by the marketing board by giving each processing plant a
set percentage of market share; premiums would only increase their
costs, not their supplies.
But
then they went shopping for more birds in Quebec and Quebec
processors retaliated by shopping in Ontario.
That
was resolved when the two provinces and marketing boards banned
importing from each other.
Now
that Ontario is getting more chicken production rights, it has also
moved to open the market for new processors to fill niche-market and
specialty-market demand and to allow small-scale production without
quota.
The
combination of national increases and Ontario’s larger share of
those increases will, if producers fill their quotas, increase
Ontario production by 4.8 per cent this year.
