MONTREAL -- Quebec calf producers are being severely affected by the containment measures linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Producers “live very difficult hours,” reads a news release issued on Saturday, since a large part of Quebec's annual veal production, which is normally destined for the catering industry, is being frozen while waiting for a level of “return to normal.”
Two veal producers from Beauce and Mauricie, Pierre-Luc Nadeau and Louis-Joseph Nadeau, therefore launched a passionate appeal to encourage Quebec consumers to add veal to their grocery cart.
Quebec veal producers also deplore the limited space granted for their local products at grocery stores while distributors have a very wide variety of veal cuts to offer for supermarket shelves.
Thus, the unsold calves remain frozen, but this temporary solution does not allow producers to cover their costs. Some are even on the brink, the statement said.
Quebec has more than 300 family farms that raise almost 100 per cent of milk-fed veal and 60 per cent of Canadian grain-fed veal, according to data provided by Les Producteurs de bovins du Québec.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2020.
