Government of Canada invests in a Quebec cheese factory

OTTAWA —  Canada’s Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced that the federal government will provide up to $859,833 to Agrigalt S.E.C. in Saint-Guillaume, Que. through the Dairy Processing Investment Fund.

The investment is intended to help the company increase cheese production at Fromagerie St-Guillaume, reduce its production costs and strengthen food security.

The cheese manufacturer will use the investment to 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. Canada’s Ministry of Agriculture says it  expects the funds will help ensure that the plant’s processing capacity increases by 35 per cent each year.

Agrilait S.E.C. owns two cheese factories and processes 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.

“Our cheese factories are often a part of their region’s identity and generate a feeling of great pride. By processing milk from local producers, they are contributing to their community’s food self-sufficiency and vitality. Our government will therefore continue to invest with them to make them more competitive and contribute to their sustainability,”
said Bibeau in a statement.