Today, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced that Agrilait S.E.C. in Saint-Guillaume, Quebec, will receive up to $859,833 through the Dairy Processing Investment Fund. This investment will help the company increase cheese production at Fromagerie St-Guillaume, reduce its production costs and, ultimately, strengthen food security.
The government's investment will help install automated equipment, including an ultrafiltration system and milk separation system. This equipment will allow Fromagerie St-Guillaume to recover by-products of the cheese-making process and incorporate them into different products, which will reduce losses and increase productivity. The funding is expected to ensure that the plant's processing capacity increases by 35 per cent a year.
Agrilait S.E.C., a joint venture between Agiska Cooperative and milk producers, owns two cheese factories and transforms over 40,000,000 litres of milk per year into about 20 different cheeses for domestic markets.
The $100-million Dairy Processing Investment Fund was created to help Canadian dairy processors modernize their businesses and improve their productivity and competitiveness. The fund has supported dairy processors in adapting to market changes resulting from the implementation of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
Dairy processors play a large role in their local, provincial, and Canadian economies. By investing in innovative technology to increase production, the Government of Canada is positioning the dairy sector for continued growth and supporting the supply of dairy products to consumers.
Dairy producers and processors generate $24 billion in sales annually, including $8 billion in Quebec.
