The Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC) has announced that it will be reducing the support price of skim milk powder effective March 1, 2015.
The support price will decrease from $6.4754 to $6.3109 per kg. The support price of butter will remain unchanged.
"This reduction follows a decrease in the cost of producing milk in Canada in the last year. This cost decrease can be seen mostly in feed, milk transportation, fuel, and interest paid" says Randy Williamson, Chairman of the CDC. "We are optimistic that this price reduction will help grow the demand for dairy products."
Support prices are the prices at which the CDC buys and sells butter and skim milk powder to balance seasonal changes in demand on the domestic market.
They are also used as references by provincial marketing boards to price industrial milk.
For dairy producers, this decrease in the support price should translate into a revenue decrease of 1.8% or $1.49 per hectolitre for industrial milk used to make products such as yogurt, cheese, and skim milk powder.
The CDC, a crown corporation created in 1966, helps design, implement, and administer policies and programs to address milk producer and processor needs.