Econ101 said:
Tam, none of the information you put up shows your point. A lot of little facts without a real examination of what is really going on is what GIPSA is good at. I guess Canada and the USDA have a lot in common.
Do you not care about the facts?
As I said before, the leadership in both Canada and the U.S. in regards to cattle producer organizations is sorely wanting. You can put the shoe back on.
You are the one that doesn't care about the facts Econ all you care about is blaming the packers. Have you read the Standing Committee on Agricultures report on the Packers in Canada or anything about what the Competition Bureau found in their investigations. First, the Standing Committee, in the long term Impacts it states that
The George Morris Centre speculates that the average unit operating costs for Canadian Packers of about $150 per head pre BSE will be about $250 per head Post BSE. Given this Huge increase, it is uncertain whether all 19 federally inspected packers will remain economically viable. In the longer term, some packers may have to leave the business, find a new owner, or merge with an existing operator.
Now it does state that the packers profited in the short term but it goes on to say the the Packers will likely suffer the most from the effect of BSE. It is a 70 page report Econ and by the looks of it all the players testified XL Beef, Cargill, Tyson, Better Beef, Levinoff Beef and some from the retail groups. BY the way not all the packer refused to turn over their book
Two of Western Canada's major packing companies - Lakeside Packers and Cargill Foods - stood in contempt of Parliament at press time on May 10 because they refused to respond to demands from the House of Commons agriculture committee that they produce financial records
AND this was an article in the WESTERN PRODUCER
Packer Probe draws to a close
This week, the House of Commons agriculture committee will report that an audit of slaughter plant books in the aftermath of the BSE outbreak showed a sharp spike in packer profits but no obvious collusion or inappropriate gouging.
Now tell us how they showed the Standing committee a shape spike if they didn't get to look at any packer books?
The Standing Committee also recommended that the Competition Bureau look into the beef industry. This is an article about their investigation
Competition Bureau Concludes Examination into Canadian Cattle and Beef Pricing
OTTAWA, April 29, 2005 – Consumer demand for Canadian beef has kept prices stable even though cattle prices have dropped since the onset of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Canada, the Competition Bureau has concluded following a thorough examination.
The Bureau began its examination in February 2004 to determine if there were agreements among beef packers to lower prices paid to cattle producers or among grocers to raise or maintain retail prices for beef. The Bureau also examined whether pricing patterns were the result of one or more dominant firms engaging in a practice of anti-competitive acts that restricted competition.
"We found no evidence of collusion or abuse of dominance by beef packers or grocers," said Richard Taylor, Deputy Commissioner of Competition. "The Bureau will continue to examine complaints of alleged anti-competitive activity in these industries, especially within the context of the U.S. border being closed to Canadian cattle."
The Bureau found that:
beef prices are set on a North American basis because of the reopening of the U.S. border to boneless beef exports from cattle under 30 months of age;
cattle prices dropped because farmers are limited to selling their cattle to Canadian slaughter houses, resulting in a massive oversupply of cattle that far exceeded Canadian slaughter capacity;
cattle prices tend to be volatile since they are normally set in auction markets;
lower cattle prices do not necessarily lead to lower consumer prices for beef; and
the final consumer price of beef includes a number of fixed costs such as transportation and labour, in addition to the price of cattle.
As part of its review, the Bureau contacted and analysed information from farmers and their associations, beef packers, and other players in the beef and cattle industries. The Bureau also retained an industry expert to write a comprehensive report, and commissioned economic reports.
The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency that promotes and maintains fair competition so that all Canadians can benefit from competitive prices, product choice and quality service. It oversees the application of the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Textile Labelling Act and the Precious Metals Marking Act.
Sorry Rod but some of the packer must have turned over their books and it was the Standing Committee on Agriculture that found no obvious collusion or inappropriate gouging. and neither did the COMPETITION BUREAU.