In May, according to Statistics Canada, the average cost to buy a four-litre jug, or four one-litre bags, of milk in New Brunswick was $8.31. Next door in Nova Scotia, the same products were selling for $6.97. Nationally, the average price was $6.45.

Milk is a staple food in households across Canada, particularly in households with children but in New Brunswick, high costs make it difficult for many to afford. 

Emily Muir oversees the operation of the St. Stephen food bank and said demand for milk at the facility is high given the number of people who cannot afford to buy it on their own.  

Emily Muir (right) succeeded Donna Linton (left) as manager of the foodbank in St. Stephen. Muir said milk is in high demand among foodbank users but its cost makes it hard to supply to everyone. (Submitted by Emily Muir)

But the cost of milk is also a problem for the charity.

"Some people do heavily rely on us for that so that means they go without," said Muir.

"We get one shipment a month of dairy, which would probably do about 25 to 30 families. I'd love to see the cost go down so that we could make it more accessible." 

Costs were supposed to be coming down this summer

In January in a presentation at the legislature, the Farm Products Commission told MLAs it had been working on a series of promotions to allow some price discounting of milk beginning in June, which it said it expected retailers would embrace.

"I don't want to get into too many details but the feedback with respect to those promotions has been outstanding," Mockler told MLAs.

"We are keeping in mind the effect that this is having on consumers and we are trying to improve upon pricing as best as we can."

But to date, the initiative has generated no detectable improvement in pricing, and price differences between New Brunswick and most other provinces remain wide.

In July, Walmart, which sells milk in all 10 provinces, was charging customers at its stores in Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton $8.28 for four-litre jugs of 2% milk. 

That's well above what the company was charging at its stores in other medium-sized Canadian cities like Sydney, N.S. ($6.78), Lethbridge, Alta. ($5.79), Brandon, Man. ($5.58), Campbell River, B.C. ($5.39), and even Whitehorse, Yukon ($5.49).

Walmart stores in Ontario do not sell milk in four-litre jugs, but four one-litre bags of 2% milk in that province in July were selling for $5.89 in cities like Thunder Bay.

The higher price in New Brunswick is largely caused by rules that govern prices New Brunswick retailers, like Walmart, are required to pay the Agropur dairy in Miramichi. 

Agropur, which is a large international co-operative dairy based in Quebec, is the last remaining processor of milk for consumers in New Brunswick.  

Milk is a staple product in many Canadian households, especially those with children, but high prices in New Brunswick make it difficult to afford for many. (Mike Heenan/CBC)

In an interview, Dominique Benoit, Agropur's senior vice-president of institutional affairs and corporate communications, said milk sold in sizes smaller than four litres in New Brunswick is not necessarily priced higher than national averages.

But in cases where they are higher, he said it is appropriate given the size of the New Brunswick market and the cost of operating a dairy to serve it. 

"It's important to have an environment that allows for producers and to allow for processors to be healthy," said Benoit.

"The pricing regulation that the commission sets allows for having a healthy industry in the province."

Agropur obtains raw milk from New Brunswick dairy farmers at prices set nationally by the Canadian Dairy Commission. The current rate is 96 cents per litre and is identical to what dairy farmers in every province are paid.

In Miramichi, Agropur packages products under its own Northumberland brand name. It also packages Baxter brand name products on behalf of Saputo.

New Brunswick's Farm Products Commission regulates milk prices in the province. Its former chair Robert Shannon and acting general manager Jim Mockler appeared before MLAs at the Legislature in January and defended pricing decisions it has made. (New Brunswick Legislature)

Under rules set by the New Brunswick Farm Products Commission, retailers cannot negotiate prices with Agropur and must pay the dairy prices at or above a minimum set by the commission.

In the case of a package of four one-litre bags of milk, New Brunswick retailers must pay Agropur a legal minimum of $7.77. The minimum price for a four-litre jug of milk is $8.02. 

That means when Walmart charges New Brunswick consumers $8.28 for a four-litre jug of milk, its share of that price is just 26 cents.   

To prevent discounting to consumers, retailers are also forbidden to sell to the public for less than what they pay Agropur. 

"The minimum retail price for fluid products shall not fall below the minimum wholesale price," the farm commission states in its pricing chart.

That rule effectively makes low prices for milk in New Brunswick against the law.

Dairy farmers in New Brunswick are not paid any more for milk than farmers in other provinces, even though prices to consumers can be substantially higher. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)

To try and improve on that rigid system in June, the commission unveiled various exceptions that would allow retailers to sell milk at a discount under some circumstances.

But it said retailers would have to sell milk at a loss to make discounts work since Agropur would still have to be paid its minimum price.

In one example, the commission devised a plan that would allow retailers to sell a four-litre jug of milk to consumers for $7.02, or four one-litre bags for $6.77, one dollar below their current minimum prices, in a promotion it called a "milk pricing holiday." 

However, the rules require discounts to last for only 10 days at a time and be implemented no more than twice a year. The rules also require Agropur to be paid $8.02 for each four-litre jug and $7.77 for each four-litre bag sold to consumers during any discount event.

"The retailer assumes the cost of selling the product below minimum retail price," the commission explained in a document provided to retailers.

That, and other discounting plans devised by the commission, have so far not caught on with stores or provided savings to consumers.

Ross Wetmore, the MLA for Gagetown-Petitcodiac, believes milk prices in New Brunswick should be closer to national averages, but he's had a hard time getting detailed information on why they are not. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

Ross Wetmore is the MLA for Gagetown-Petitcodiac. He's a former grocer and former minister of Agriculture and says milk pricing in New Brunswick is not working for consumers. He believes amounts retailers have to pay the Agropur dairy are set too high.

"I can understand why people aren't buying milk because they can't afford it," said Wetmore.

"The price paid to dairy farmers are the same across the country and if that's the case, our price should certainly be close to the same across the board."

Wetmore asked the Farm Products Commission to supply information detailing exactly how it sets minimum prices for milk in New Brunswick during its appearance at the legislature. 

He said the body told him later in an email Agropur's financial information, which is used to set minimum prices in New Brunswick, is confidential and could not be shared.

"I ran up against a brick wall," said Wetmore.