Dairy import quotas should be administered by dairy processors.Ottawa—Dairy product import licenses granted under the CUSMA trade deal should go to milk processors to ensure their financial viability in the face of sweeping changes caused by the pandemic and trade deals, the companies say.In a statement issued in late May, the Dairy Processors Association of Canada (DPAC) warned “the continued viability of the dairy sector is at stake if CUSMA dairy import licences are allocated to non dairy stakeholders.”The processors are already suffering under the terms of the free trade deal with Europe, for which they haven't received full promised federal compensation, and they foresee even more financial harm after the CUSMA comes into effect in less than a month.“The future of Canadian dairy farmers and processors is intricately tied to the success of the Canadian dairy sector as a whole—from farm to table. And, Canadian dairy processors need the vast majority of CUSMA's dairy import licenses to help them remain viable and meet the enormous challenges that lie ahead.”Already reeling from impact of COVID-19 on dairy product sales, the companies face further uncertainty if the import licenses, known as TRQs, are granted to companies that have no vested interest in the dairy sector, as the federal government did in 2017 through the trade agreement with the EU (CETA), said DPAC President and CEO Mathieu Frigon.Non-processor importers tend to bring in cheese and other products already popular in Canada made with highly subsidized European milk and that undercuts the Canadian processors. They proposed importing European products that would be new to Canadians to develop more sales.Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said the government protected dairy and poultry supply management during the trade negotiations with the United States and Mexico. The government has delivered compensation to dairy farmers and promised it for poultry farmers and processors for both the sectors although no time line for paying it has been set. “We have kept our promises, and that's exactly what we'll continue to do.”Frigon said, “The CETA allocation decision in 2017 was a huge disappointment for dairy processors as 55 per cent of CETA TRQs were allocated to retailers, brokers, distributors, and further processors.”In the case of the Pacific trade deal in 2018, 80 per cent to 85 per cent of TRQs were allocated to dairy processors, he said. “Other than a small $100 million modernisation program announced in the fall of 2016 for CETA, dairy processors have not received any compensation for trade agreements.”Canadian processors “have invested billions in the dairy industry in the last 10 years through expansion, plant upgrades, and product innovation,” DPAC said. Allocating the vast majority of CUSMA's TRQs to dairy processors will ensure stability in the domestic dairy market and the introduction “of a variety of competitively priced imported products that complement rather than compete with domestic products, milk' goods.“As the dairy processing industry cautiously looks forward to the country's economic recovery from COVID-19, now is not the time to further disrupt Canada's supply-managed dairy marketplace by giving a share of CUSMA-related TRQs to stakeholders that have no vested interest in value creation in the dairy sector.”Last year DPAC said the federal failure to provide a promised “compensation package has left Canadian dairy processors with no clear direction when it comes to this government's plan to mitigate the negative impacts of trade agreements.”Dairy processing is the second largest food processing industry in Canada, contributing more than $18 billion annually to the national economy. Dairy processors directly employ 24,000 Canadians in over 470 facilities across the country and pay $1.2 billion in wages.Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.