The CBC reports on a breathtaking news item … imported mozzarella cheese is being removed from the clutches of the supply management system, which will reduce prices by a significant amount:
Pizza lovers could soon be paying less for their favourite pies.
A ruling made this week by the Canadian Dairy Commission could soon allow Canadian restaurants to buy deeply discounted mozzarella cheese.
The commission changed the rules used to classify mozzarella cheese, putting the milk product in its own class and essentially removing it from supply-management pricing. Before the ruling, the price for mozzarella cheese in Canada was artificially high when compared to the world market.
The new class, to take effect June 1, is expected to result in lower costs for Canadian-made mozzarella for restaurants that prepare and cook pizzas on site.
Bob Abumeeiz, who owns Arcata Pizzeria in Windsor, Ont., said the ruling could drop the price of a large pizza by as much as 10 per cent.
Oh, and the cheese smuggling?
High prices are part of the reason some pizzeria owners were turning to contraband cheese, smuggled into Canada from the U.S.
Last fall CBC News learned three men, including one current and one former police officer from the Niagara Falls area, were charged in connection with an international cheese-smuggling network.
The men are accused of smuggling caseloads of cheap cheese from the U.S. to sell to Canadian pizzerias and restaurants.
Supply – Management, what a joke. Too much political power behind the folks who have managed to increase the price that consumers pay based on a tight control over the production of goods. The price of staples like milk, eggs, and cheese are over inflated due to the artificial control that supply-management imposes on the market.
Comment by Dwayne — May 6, 2013 @ 16:06
While Stephen Harper and his party used to talk a good line in free trade and unfettered markets, it has proved to be so much hot air since they got their majority. Supply management is frequently mentioned as the biggest sticking point for potential free trade agreements with other countries … and the Tories are willing to give up all the economic gains from these agreements to keep dairy farmers in Quebec and Ontario happy.
Comment by Nicholas — May 7, 2013 @ 12:13
Oh, and Terence Corcoran says the media is out to lunch if they think Canadians will actually see any significant price reductions in retail prices (and he’s almost certainly right, I’m afraid).
Comment by Nicholas — May 7, 2013 @ 12:43