September 29, 2023 – The Dairy Processors Association of Canada (DPAC) welcomes today’s announcement of the Dairy Innovation and Investment Fund (DIIF) by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay.
This Fund not only helps dairy processors overcome the uncertainty caused by recent trade agreements, namely CETA, CPTPP and CUSMA, but also offers a tangible solution to the challenges linked to the surplus of milk.
Growing demand for butterfat products such as cream and butter, has created a significant surplus of skim milk, which has outpaced the industry’s processing capacity. The support provided by the program therefore comes at a critical time and will ensure that investments take place in the near future.
The DIIF initiative is a matching fund program, where most of the money will come from processors, with the government providing complementary support to ensure that investments to expand plant capacity occur. Ultimately, the Canadian economy, particularly rural communities, will benefit from those investments in additional processing capacity.
It is important that these programs be part of a continuous improvement process to ensure that they meet the needs of the industry, particularly the unique needs of SMEs in dairy processing. DPAC takes this opportunity to invite the government to review the current criteria for the Supply Management Processing Investment Fund to ensure that it adequately meets its objectives.