Why is cheese more expensive in Canada?

[Wezil]

Economically it would make a hell of a lot of sense to rationalize their dairy business if it is so completely uncompetitive. Free trade would push the high cost producers out of business while the big guys will become bigger and more efficient resulting in more cheese and better cheese for everyone.

It isn't really an econmomic argument. It's political.

[Dinner]

Some of the subsidies might actually be raising the price of US dairy though. There's the ethanol mandate/subsidies which drive corn prices higher. Then there are farmers being paid not to plant crops on their land to keep prices higher. Combined with all the other subsidies and tariffs it's a mess. Maybe it all cancels out in the end and we really can just blame the Canadians for their high priced cheese. In that case I would blame Quebec, French are notoriously voracious cheese eaters.

Yes, ethanol was just a horrible giveaway to farm states because 1) it takes more oil to grow the damn corn then you get back in oil equivalents so it is a net negative process which just destroys value 2) It causes a spike in food prices raising the price both of animal feed and of meat 3) We can much more easily create ethanol simply by eliminating the sugar tariff and importing cane sugar grown in the tropics which actually produces more oil equivalents than it consumes unlike corn.

[Dinner]

It isn't really an econmomic argument. It's political.

Then without completely scrapping their quota system (though that is what should be done) they could just increase the quotas which would result in lower prices and less of a price disparity with the rest of global markets.

[giblets]

The same political forces that don't want it scrapped also are going to oppose increasing the quota.

[notyoueither]

It's a tricky situation, as the value of quota is a significant asset for producers. It would be very disruptive to simply toss it out.

The system will end. We are at the beginning stages of the government making the case that it should, and looking for ways to do it that are best for all concerned.

[regexcellent]

Man, Hamilton is just two hours from here. BRB going to BJ's to buy a ****load of cheese, be back in 6 hours or so.

Oh, better grab my passport.

[regexcellent]

Anyone in Ontario interested in buying cheese wholesale?

[ColdWizard]

I already have a pipeline from Rochester to London. Don't make me break your legs.

[Fake Boris]

The quotas are traded on the market, and it would be politically difficult to remove them.

[Fake Boris]

BTW, if you take away the cost of the quota from the final retail price, cheese is the same in the US and Canada.

[Kidlicious]

BTW, if you take away the cost of the quota from the final retail price, cheese is the same in the US and Canada.

Do canadians eat American Cheese like we eat Canadian Bacon?

[Wezil]

No.

[Kidlicious]

Then, no, your cheese would not be as cheap.

[Wezil]

Out of curiousity I checked to see what "American cheese" might be...

Wiki -

American cheese is a processed cheese. It is orange, yellow, or white in color and mild in flavor, with a medium-firm consistency, and melts easily. American cheese was originally only white, but is sometimes now modified to yellow. In the past, it was made from a blend of cheeses, most often Colby and Cheddar. Today’s American cheese is generally no longer made from blended cheeses, but instead is manufactured from a set of ingredients[1] such as milk, whey, milkfat, milk protein concentrate, whey protein concentrate, and salt. In the United States,[2] it may not be legally sold as "cheese", and must be labeled as "processed cheese", "cheese product", or similar—e.g., "cheese food". At times even the word "cheese" is missing in the name on the label, e.g. "American slices" or "American singles". In Canada, exactly the same product, often by the same manufacturer with the same label design, used to be sold as "Canadian cheese" or "Canadian slices". Today, most such cheese in Canada is vaguely labelled just "slices" or "singles". In the United Kingdom, packs are labelled as "singles",[3] although it is commonly called cheese slices.

I should have known.

[Aeson]

Canadian Bacon is actually good ... American Cheese is only useful for caulking windows.