'It just keeps going up': How rising milk prices are affecting the cost of dairy
The cost of milk is going up again.
On Feb. 1, the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC) increased the "farm gate milk price" by 2.2 per cent.
And with higher milk prices come similar increases for products that use it as an ingredient.
Before every pizza goes into the oven at Calabria Market, it is buried in a mountain of cheese.
A mountain that is becoming more costly to build, said CEO Cathy Wozny.
"Oh my god! It just keeps going up! It's getting a little hard to make these beautiful recipes and still use the amount of cheese that we have to put in our recipes," she said.
The increasing price of cheese is directly related to the price of milk, which has gone up 13 per cent since last February.
Wednesday's price increase was the third hike for milk in the last year.
Food Fare owner Munther Zeid said they have no wiggle room when it comes to pricing.
"Milk, yogurt, cheese, it goes up. Once one goes up, they all go up! Will it ever go down? It would be amazing to see," Zeid said.
CDC CEO Benoit Basillais said the increases are needed to help dairy farmers who are dealing with serious inflationary pressures.
"It's a very tough situation that producers are faced with. Everything is going up. The feed they buy is more expensive because the fuel went up," said Basillais.
David Wiens, chair of the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba said the raising of milk prices was critical for his operation.
"Without these increases it would have been awful out here. And we would not have our heads above water as we do now," said Wiens.
Wozny said Calabria Market is not willing to sacrifice quality by reducing the amount of cheese it uses. But she said it doesn't feel right raising her own prices.
"It's just not possible. How high can you go on a pizza," she said, adding that they will just have to eat the price increase themselves.
The CDC said raising milk prices can't be the only solution, so it is looking for more international markets where Canadian milk can be sold.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberals to go after predatory lending in today's budget, invest in dental care plan
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is set to table a federal budget in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon, which a federal source says will include plans to go after predatory lending and more details on dental care as part of a pitch to make life more affordable.

Nearly all Canadian adults had COVID antibodies for about half of 2022, most through previous infection: survey
A newly released survey finds nearly all Canadian adults had antibodies against COVID-19 for about half of 2022, with most acquiring them through a previous infection.
Nashville police release chilling security camera footage of suspected school shooter
Nashville police have released security camera footage of a suspected shooter entering the private Christian elementary school. The shooting claimed the lives of three children, all aged nine, and three adults.
Family sues Hamilton, Ont. school board after 5-year-old girl loses part of finger in alleged bullying incident
The mother of a five-year-old girl said her daughter was allegedly bullied so badly she was left with a partially amputated finger from an incident in the washroom.
Quebec police officer stabbed and killed during arrest, second wounded
A Quebec provincial police officer was fatally stabbed Monday night while performing an arrest in Louiseville, west of Trois-Rivieres, Que. The Surete du Quebec (SQ) has confirmed the identity of the officer, Sgt. Maureen Breau, who had been on the force for over 20 years. She was assigned to the post of the MRC de Maskinonge. Another officer was injured during the incident, but their life is not in danger.
Nashville shooter was ex-student with detailed plan to kill
The former student who shot through the doors of a Christian elementary school in Nashville and killed three children and three adults had drawn a detailed map of the school, including potential entry points, and conducted surveillance of the building before carrying out the massacre.
Elephant in the dining room: Startup makes mammoth meatball
An Australian company lifted the glass cloche on a meatball made of lab-grown cultured meat using the genetic sequence from the long-extinct pachyderm, saying it was meant to fire up public debate about the hi-tech treat.
Russian whose daughter drew anti-war picture gets two years' jail but flees
A Russian who was investigated by police after his daughter drew an anti-war picture at school was sentenced on Tuesday to two years in a penal colony on charges of discrediting the armed forces.
Asylum seekers in Atlantic Canada struggle to obtain legal counsel
An influx of asylum seekers into Canada via unofficial border crossings has prompted the federal government to relocate refugees from Quebec as far as Atlantic provinces, some more than 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) away, and hire a risk mitigation company to deal with the record surge.