Gordon MacBeath, chair of the Prince Edward Island Marketing Council, today announced that the minimum wholesale price of fluid milk and cream products will increase by two (2) cents a litre on September 1.
Mr. MacBeath said that Council did not increase the minimum home delivery price of fluid milk products. Distributors are expected to adjust their home delivery selling prices to offset increased costs associated with the declining market for this service.
Fluid milk products include homogenized (standard) milk, 2% milk, 1% milk, skim milk and chocolate milk. Fluid cream products include blend, table cream and whipping cream.
“Producers will receive approximately 1.45 cents per litre of the increase while processors will see their average margins increase by about 0.55 cents a litre,” said Mr. MacBeath.
Mr. MacBeath said that in establishing the Class 1 producer price, the Marketing Council took into account a recent similar producer price increase for milk used in industrial milk products announced by the Canadian Dairy Commission because of increased producer input costs.
The processor margin increase is intended to help offset some of the recent increases in energy and packaging costs.
“Prices established by Marketing Council are minimum prices,” said Mr. MacBeath. “Processors and distributors may sell their products above the minimum prices if they wish.” Mr. MacBeath said that retail prices are not regulated.
A full schedule of prices will be published in the Royal Gazette.
Marketing Council is a statutory body established under the Natural Products Marketing Act. Among other things, it has been granted authority under the Act to establish the producer price for Class 1 milk, and minimum wholesale and home delivery prices.