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Shivetya

Canada had may still have 270% tariffs on imported dairy products which they use to justify protecting their farmers.

However what the article does bring up, just what is acceptable in cattle feed?

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> 270% tariffs

Sad to see consumers paying the price for what is effectively a cartel.

Why not simply compete?

This article is an excellent answer to your question: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26434032

> Trump may not like it, but those tariffs are part of a politically sensitive, decades-old policy to protect Canada's dairy farmers. The system is called "supply management" and it sets production quotas for the country's dairy, poultry products and eggs.

> Murray Sherk, the owner of the family-run Pinehill Dairy in Plattsville, Ontario, says supply management helps keep prices stable, gives farmers a steady income and has succeeded in avoiding a milk surplus in Canada.

> "The stability of our system is of great benefit to not only farmers, but also all kinds of other businesses," he says — like restaurants and trucking.

https://www.npr.org/2018/07/10/627271410/why-president-trump...

> With all we've learned during the pandemic about supply chains, why would anyone willingly out-source Canada’s supply of our most basic food items?

https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/why-canada-should-keep-suppl...

I can’t see the tariffs going away.

Canada also has banned the use of artificial growth hormones in dairy cows, and America has not. I don’t think many Canadians are ok with the amount of hormones in American dairy products.

As a Canadian, I have zero problems with this setup. I have no problem paying a little more to ensure stable incomes for small farmers. I would rather see a dozen small farms with happy cows in the field, where the farmer personally knows each cow by name, than a single mega-farm with thousands of them all jammed into a single barn in a faceless hellscape of corporate profit maximization.

I’m not sure I disagree with you, but triple the price isn’t just a little more.

Granted, it’s a big markup in terms of percentages.

However, how big is the typical budget for butter in a Canadian household in dollars?

Fresh milk is the real kicker. A growing youth can easily drink $120 a month which is unaffordable for many.

The funny but for me is that NZ dairy has been locked out of certain markets due to this sort of thing. Despite NZ being at the end of the earth, the miles travelled exporting our dairy to Europe are often less than those travelled by dairy produced and sold in Europe.

However Fonterra a a terribly company and so NZ milk should probably be avoided for other reasons.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/27814216_Food_Miles...

Winter makes Canada more expensive. Some people are unwilling to wipe out domestic production. And once the wall is up, the dairy cartel is free to optimize the price. Ugly stuff.

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