Removing Canada’s supply management system could be problematic for farmers, Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics professor Michael von Massow said in a recent interview with BNN.

A recent report suggested dissolving Canada’s dairy supply management system could be beneficial to farmers, by allowing them to export dairy around the world. The system is expected to be discussed during North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations. The report said Canadian farmers have succeeded exporting soybean and canola, where there is no supply management model.

Milk is challenging to ship globally since dairy is much more perishable than soybeans and canola, von Massow said. He also discussed how products such as Canadian apples, not subject to supply management, have not grown their global market share. Von Massow studies food value chains and supply management models.