The following is an open letter from the Ontario Agricultural Commodity Council to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, requesting the removal of the fertilizer tariff that has been in place for more than a year. The letter was also copied to Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau.
Dear Minister Freeland,
On behalf of the Ontario Agricultural Commodity Council, a coalition of 27 non-supply-managed commodity groups representing over $12 billion in annual farmgate sales, I want to bring to your attention some of the unintended, but serious, consequences of tariffs placed on fertilizer imports.
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Over the last year, Canadians have observed high food inflation, in part due to additional costs on food inputs such as fertilizer tariffs. Farmers have had a highly disproportionate cost added to their businesses due to these tariffs.
Farmers compete with the European Union and the United States, both of which do not have tariffs on their crop fertilizers. This puts our farmers at a price and production-cost disadvantage.
It should also be noted that there are no restrictions on fertilizer shipments, from tariffed countries, that are routed indirectly through the United States to Canada. These artificial detours in fertilizer shipments also result in increased transportation-related costs to Canadian farmers and a negative environmental impact.
Farmers have done everything they can to produce affordable food that will help Canada and the world meet their growing needs. The atrocity of the Russian invasion of Ukraine had an unparalleled impact on the world’s grain supply, but the tariffs have only resulted in increased costs to farmers.
As some of our members continue to ask that collected fertilizer tariff monies be returned to the local farmers that make up their own memberships, we ask that the government follow the UN secretary general’s recommendation that all countries remove punitive tariffs on fertilizers and crop inputs.
It is all too evident that these tariffs only add to the cost burden of Canadian farmers and to the price of groceries. They also restrict the flow of food and food aid in the most vulnerable countries of the world.
We ask that you consider our request above and contact our office if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Mike Chromczak, OACC chair
