On June 28th, the Ontario government posted a regulation amendment proposal to Regulation 440, which governs the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers (OPVG) marketing board and its authority relating to 14 vegetable varieties for processing. In it, they proposed removing the negotiating powers of OPVG, and “moving to a free market system.”
The CFFO is very concerned about the proposed changes. Our concerns are twofold. First, the consultation process itself is short (45 days), poorly timed in the busy harvest season, and has given producers very limited information about the proposed changes and the reasons behind them. This leaves producers anxious about the details and implications of how a new free market system would operate in Ontario. This does not offer producers a fair opportunity to evaluate or comment on the changes proposed.
Second, we are concerned about the proposal to remove negotiating power from the OPVG marketing board which has been working effectively for producers in Ontario. Ontario processing vegetable producers have enjoyed the stability of the marketing regulation, where they are confident to invest in their farm businesses, and have predictable, fairly negotiated prices. These producers support the OPVG and its work on behalf of their interests, and for the benefit of the industry as a whole. Because farmers are marketing highly perishable crops, in a market that has a limited number of purchasers, a free market system is unlikely to effectively balance the power of processors with that of farmers for processing vegetables in Ontario.
Based on this, the CFFO does not support the proposed changes to a free market system for Ontario processing vegetable producers.
Source: Christianfarmers