A recent article critical of dairy supply management in Canada caught the attention of the president of Dairy Farmers of Canada.
The Financial Post article was written by former Finance Minister Joe Oliver.
DFC President Wally Smith says Oliver seriously minimized the importance of Canada's supply managed industries.
He points out the dairy sector supports about 215 thousand jobs across the country and contributes almost 19 billion dollars a year to Canada's GDP.
Smith also argues Canada's pricing for dairy compares favourably with countries that don't have supply management.
He cites U-S figures which show milk sold for an average of a dollar 20 a litre last August in the States compared to an average price of 1.24 a litre in Canada.
The DFC president points out that price does not take into account that the U-S dairy industry receives billions in subsidies every year.
Smith adds that between 1973 and 2014, Canadian milk yields increased 134 per cent.
He compares that with a 116 per cent increase in the U-S and 49 per cent in New Zealand.
And Smith says despite what Oliver claims, the grass is not greener for countries that have gotten rid of supply management.
He says the European Union has just announced a package of exceptional measures to help farmers there weather plummeting world milk prices, including voluntary supply management.
And in New Zealand, Smith says dairy farmers are experiencing their worst returns since 2006-7 with most of them not expected to be able to cover their costs of production this year.
The Dairy Farmers of Canada President says he was disappointed with Oliver's critique of this country's dairy supply management system.
