Supply management offers three primary advantages that benefit both farmers and consumers:
- Manage production – Supply management allows farmers to provide consumers with quality products in sufficient quantities without producing surpluses. This is enabled by the “quota system”, by which dairy, chicken, turkey, table egg and hatching egg producers undertake to supply a small share of the Canadian market. If surpluses occur, producers will support the cost of them jointly.
- Control imports - Under a supply-managed system, the federal government ensures that imports are limited through tariffs so that product demands in Canada can be substantially met by Canadian farmers.
- Ensure prices cover production costs – The federal government also introduced mechanisms to enable producers to get prices that guarantee reasonable returns and a decent living from their production. This means that the government does not have to subsidize supply-managed industries. Supply management thus helps create a stable and equitable economic environment that benefits every link in the food.