The MEI proposes $13 billion of compensation to farmers to end supply management
Montreal, June 1st, 2017 – Compensating farmers who paid for production quotas with the revenue from a temporary tax would allow the government to abolish supply management in the dairy, poultry, and egg sectors, shows a Viewpoint published today by the MEI.
Such a measure would be positive both for farmers and for Canadian consumers. “If the government decided to compensate farmers for the value of their quotas over a period of ten years, it would have to offer them annual payments of $1.6 billion. Yet the net benefit for consumers would be from $3.9 billion to $5.1 billion each year, and up to $6.7 billion once the reimbursement period is over,” explains Alexandre Moreau, co-author of the publication.
For example, Canadians could pay $2.31 for a two-litre carton of milk from the start of liberalization, instead of the current price of $4.93, he adds.
The accounting value of the quotas of $13 billion, used for this calculation, is on average equal to 38% of their current market value, which comes to a little over $34 billion. Compensation would vary from one farmer to another in order to avoid providing excessive compensation to farmers who bought their quotas at a fraction of the current price, or received them free of charge, while being fair to those who acquired quotas at a higher cost.
If Ottawa decided to liberalize supply-managed sectors, a temporary tax should serve to finance the compensation paid to farmers. This tax would disappear once the compensation was paid in full.
“Such a policy was used successfully in Australia when that country eliminated its own supply management system,” explains Vincent Geloso, co-author of the publication. “The compensation offered to producers was financed by a transitory tax equal to half of the expected consumer price decline. Consumers were therefore immediately able to enjoy price reductions while farmers received payments to compensate them for their losses of revenue. The same principle could be applied here,” he adds.
The publication points out that rules regarding the environment, health, and food quality would continue to apply to products imported from abroad once the market is liberalized.
“This kind of reform would be positive and fair both for farmers and for consumers. Now, it’s up to public decision-makers to take action and dismantle this regime that is unfair for consumers, all while adequately compensating farmers,” concludes Alexandre Moreau.
The Viewpoint entitled “Ending Supply Management with a Quota Buyback” was prepared by Alexandre Moreau, public policy analyst at the MEI, and Vincent Geloso, Associate researcher at the MEI. This publication is available on our website.
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The Montreal Economic Institute is an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit research and educational organization. Through its studies and its conferences, the MEI stimulates debate on public policies in Quebec and across Canada by proposing wealth-creating reforms based on market mechanisms.
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Interview requests: Pascale Déry, Senior Advisor, Communications, Current Affairs, MEI / Tel.: 514-273-0969 ext. 2233 / Cell.: 514-502-6757 / Email: pdery@iedm.org