TORONTO — The Canadian Dairy Commission has announced a price increase of 1.5 per cent on the milk used to make cheese, yogurt and ice-cream, effective Feb. 1.
The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association’s (CRFA) is disappointed to hear about the increase, which they lobbied to prevent. “Record-high dairy prices and low disposable incomes are already driving consumers to choose other menu items in our restaurants,” said Garth Whyte, president and CEO of the CRFA. “This price increase will drive dairy consumption down even further.”
According to the CRFA, the price of industrial milk has risen by 59 per cent since 1994, while the consumer price index has only increased by 34 per cent.Alternately, Jacques Laforge, chair of the Dairy Farmers of Canada, maintains cost increases have forced prices up. “If it doesn’st increase pretty soon, there won’st be any farmers,” he told the Canadian Press, when the issue was discussed this past summer.
