An industry association representing B.C. chicken processors has failed in its bid to set the price of meat birds in line with lower cost counterparts in Ontario — a preference that would have made B.C. chickens more competitive across Canada and better served the financial interests of processors.
The legal challenge before the B.C. Supreme Court stemmed from a dispute between the Primary Poultry Processors Association of B.C. and the B.C. Chicken Growers Association. For years, the relatively higher cost of feed in the province had driven higher prices for live broiler chickens, and therefore tension within the industry as farmers risked getting paid less than the cost of production.
After a lengthy process, in October 2023, the B.C. Farm Industry Review Board approved a long-term pricing formula from the British Columbia Chicken Marketing Board based on the cost of producing a live chicken in B.C. The goal: create a transparent pricing model that balances reasonable returns to growers and ensures competitiveness for processors.
In March 2024, the processors association argued before a review panel that the pricing recommendation should be rejected because it was supported by unreliable data, developed without independent oversight, and reflected a pre-determined outcome that favoured growers at the expense of consumers and other industry stakeholders.
By pricing chickens based on “grower efficiency,” the decision failed to compare the effect of lower cost counterparts in Ontario, claimed the processors association.
The Review Board found the pricing plan was tailored to provide a reasonable return to an “efficient grower” and would maintain the competitiveness of B.C. processors in the Canadian market. It ordered the pricing formula to be phased in by June 2025.
The processors association challenged the decision in a request for judicial review, arguing the pricing of chickens was unreasonable and did not adhere to sound marketing practices.
In response, both the Chicken Marketing Board and the growers association said the court challenge was based on processors association’s concern that the pricing model would favour the financial interests of growers over processors.
In a ruling released Thursday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jan Brongers found the processors association had not been denied procedural fairness in the lead up to the pricing decision.
“The review [anel further noted that the processors association was given an opportunity to provide transparent and verifiable data as a measure of processor competitiveness, but failed to do so,” wrote Brongers.
The judge ruled the industry group failed to show the chicken pricing decision was “patently unreasonable” and dismissed the its petition for judicial review.
