EASTERN ONTARIO — Eight years and one cancelled processing plant later, Chobani’s famous American-made Greek yogurt is back in Canada again, under an exclusive retail agreement with Loblaws in effect since September.
The U.S. company that brought Greek yogurt to the masses south of the border made a brief, year-long foray into the Ontario market in 2012, whipping up appetite for its products here at the time. However, Chobani’s temporary tariff-free importation permit controversially ended without the anticipated construction of a Kingston processing plant to make its yogurt from domestic milk for the Canadian market. Behind the scenes, it’s been reported that existing processors here stymied the upstart competitor’s desired access to this country’s supply-managed milk.
Chobani isn’t using Canadian milk in its 2021 return to Canada, either. This time around, the upstate New York-based company is flowing American-made yogurt across the border at low or no tariff as part of a “tariff-rate quota” allocation, as confirmed by Loblaws.
“Chobani Greek Yogurt products are made in the United States and are imported into Canada via the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) process,” the company said in a statement to Farmers Forum earlier this year.
Chobani Greek yogurts now sold at Loblaws are available in three multi-serve options and are fair-trade certified.
The company also offers a selection of oat-milk products in Canada. Those are easier to bring into the country because supply-management restrictions don’t apply.
