Trade Agreement Could Affect WNY Dairy Industry
By: Caroline Tucker
Updated: February 18, 2013
The milk trucks continue to come and go at O-AT-KA, a milk products company that has been around for the last five decades.
It's a sign of a booming dairy industry in Western New York.
Milk is shipped in from at least 11 counties for use in everything from flavored milk to milk powder.
"We are excited about the opportunity to sell these products both in the US and domestically :04 and to our partners in Cananda, Mexico and around the world," said Bill Schreiber, O-AT-KA Chief Operating Officer.
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer fears some of that business will be hurt by Canadian barriers in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is a free-trade agreement being negotiated between nine countries and the United States.
Canada is also included.
"They limit how the milk can come in what products come in, how they are inspected, how long they have to wait. They put barriers in the way that make it much less profitable to buy them from an American company than a Canadian," said Sen. Charles Schumer, (D) New York.
O-AT-KA estimates that about 5-percent of its products are exported to Canada
"There is potentially $10 million in lost trade revenue but we still have market for our products domestically," said Schreiber.
O-AT-KA is expected to open a $16 million expansion soon to broaden its product line.
The company said that will still happen but Sen. Schumer said any barriers to New York's Dairy industry will only slow future growth
"This is an opportunity to grow and you don't want to stop it in its tracks," said Sen. Schumer.
Sen. Schumer has written a letter to USDA Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk urging them to protect the dairy industry during negotiations.
Trade talks restart in March.
