Canada’s Supply-Managed Dairy Policy: How Do We Compare?

In Canada, a long-standing, complex supply management system sets milk prices at the farm level and limits milk supply and dairy imports. Other countries also developed interventionist policies in the mid-20th century to respond to surplus milk and low dairy prices, but most shifted to more liberalized policies in the 1980s. This briefing compares the developments in interventionist dairy policies and the fluctuations in dairy production in Canada with that in the United States, the Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand. Those four countries (and others) are now involved in trade talks with Canada. This comparison of peer country dairy sectors provides background on where different countries are coming from in trade negotiations and presents a variety of models to consider as Canada contemplates reform of its own system.