Dairy sector counting on schools and restaurants reopening for revenue recovery: FCC

The dairy sector has weathered COVID-19 fairly well as milk dumping only occurred once for several hundred farmers over one weekend, according to the Dairy Farmers of Ontario. The industry is now counting on schools, restaurants and other food services to reopen to boost demand and gross average farm revenues will start recovering in the fall, according to a Farm Credit Canada report.

Farm Credit Canada released its updated outlook for the dairy sector last month, projecting that impacts of the new North American trade deal will be small.

Restaurant and school closures this year cut demand and gross average revenues slipped about $1 per hectolitre below projections to $79.08/hectolitre. “Although the consumption of dairy products at home increased when confinement measures were implemented, it was not enough to pick up the slack for all dairy products,” the report read.