EDITORIAL

We believe Canada’s dairy industry can leap tall buildings in a single bound



Caught in a vortex of high dairy prices and shrinking domestic demand for its products, Canada’s dairy industry is in trouble.

The high price of Canadian milk, butter, cheese and ice cream means consumers have been putting fewer dairy products in their grocery carts. The trend is intensifying because of Canada’s aging, ethnically diverse population, and the growing array of affordable options to dairy, such as soy beverages and calcium-fortified juice.

Over the past 25 years, fluid milk consumption has fallen by more than 18 per cent, and it's expected to drop another 12 per cent by 2020. Canadians are buying nearly 30 per cent less butter than they did 25 years ago, and 24 per cent less ice cream. Cheddar cheese consumption has moved up by less than 2 per cent since 1980.

Dairy herds are on the decline - down from over 1.4 million head to just over 1 million since the early 1990s -- while beef and sow herds continue to expand. While this is partly due to increased efficiencies, the drop in demand for dairy products in Canada is largely to blame.

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