Why Cdn Dollor doesn't sink our Cdn egg producers

Canadian egg producers lead a charmed life.

A year ago it was cheaper to bring eggs in from the U.S. and pay the tariff than produce them in Canada. The soaring Canadian dollar was expected to deliver a punishing blow. But that hasn’t happened.

The problem has been alleviated by a few factors, says a federal government poultry analyst who asked that he not be identified. One reason is the higher feed costs on both sides of the border. Another is stronger demand for U.S. eggs (particularly to Europe), as well as an overall reduced inventory of dried eggs.

Finally, producer prices in the U.S. have increased because more producers have begun complying with Europe’s animal welfare program (fewer layers in each cage, nutritious food, clean water, proper lighting, fresh air daily, etc).

The shrinking of domestic supply and the higher input prices have caused the price of table eggs in the U.S. to surge to about US$1.35 per dozen (September 2007) or about double what they were a year earlier. Even with a stronger Canadian dollar, the near doubling in price of U.S. eggs has pretty much slammed the door shut on cheap eggs coming north over the tariff wall.