| AGRICULTURE: Western provinces support Ottawa on deregulating barley trade |
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(AlbertaIndex, February 6, Wednesday) --- Agriculture ministers from Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia have pledged their support for federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz who wants to end the Canadian Wheat Board’s (CWB) monopoly on barley sales. On January 29, Ritz met with a number of key stakeholders in the quest to remove barley from under the single desk marketing authority of the CWB. These groups include the Western Grain Elevator Association, the Western Barley Growers Association, the Alberta Barley Commission, and the CWB itself. “Marketing opportunities are being lost everyday and it’s vital that Alberta’s barley producers be able to market their product to anyone they choose. We’ve asked them directly and they have told us loud and clear – they want marketing choice.” “Saskatchewan farmers expressed their desire for marketing choice in the barley plebiscite,” Saskatchewan Minister of Agriculture Bob Bjornerud said. “Marketing choice will provide a platform for growth in the barley industry.” “Providing flexibility to western barley producers in how they market their products would allow for new opportunities in niche markets,” said Pat Bell, Minister of Agriculture and Lands for British Columbia. “I stand behind B.C. barley producers, who have called for choice in how their product can be marketed, and thank Minister Ritz for leading this initiative.” In a plebiscite held in March 2007, 62 per cent of barley producers voted to remove the CWB’s monopoly on barley sales. On July 31, a Federal Court ruling stopped the Canadian government from removing barley and barley products from the single desk marketing authority of the CWB. Did you enjoy this article? Please share it!         |
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