June 23, 2011
Ending the monopoly power of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) makes sense, owing to its apparent inability to deliver strong returns for farmers, while limiting farmers’ choices on sales practices, according to a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Pulling the Plug on Monopoly Power: Reform for the Canadian Wheat Board,” authors Richard Pedde and Al Loyns point out that owing to declining world market share, there is little possibility of the CWB’s wielding market power and no strong evidence it achieves higher returns for farmers. Its monopoly over Western Canadian wheat and most barley sales therefore should be reconsidered with an eye to ending it, say the authors.
