Current Agriculture, Food & Resource Issues
D. Surprenant and J.-P. Gervais
3. Since import licences are currently allocated to processors and retailers, an
importer’s position in the chicken supply chain should influence the value it
attaches to an import permit (loosely defined as the difference between the
local price and the import price) and thus shape its perceptions towards the
current allocation system.
4. Finally, preferences towards licence allocation methods can vary across
regions due to differences in efficiency and/or concentration at the
processing level or due to different market conditions (price-elasticity of
demand, etc.).
Data and Methodology
Atotal of 497 importers located across Canada were sent survey questionnaires during
the last quarter of 2000. The objective of the survey was to evaluate their opinions
towards Canadian chicken trade policy, especially as it relates to the administration of the
TRQ. The 497 importers who were sent questionnaires had each obtained at least one
import licence from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 2000.
The questionnaire included 11 questions and was written in both official languages of
Canada. Importers whose businesses were located in Quebec received the French
questionnaire while other importers received the English questionnaire. Importers were
also presented with the alternative of requesting the survey in the language of their choice.
Eleven questionnaires were returned with notification that the importing firms’ addresses
were incorrect. A total of 112 importers returned usable questionnaires, yielding a
participation rate for the survey of 23.1 percent. Included with the questionnaire were a
cover letter explaining the purpose of the study and a short introductory statement about
the WTO trade negotiations and existing import licensing allocation methods as notified
by WTO members. A reminder was sent to all importing firms two weeks after the initial
date.
Statistical Analysis
The first part of the analysis uses univariate statistics to describe the most important
findings. In the second stage of analysis, the survey answers are compared
quantitatively using Chi-square tests to determine if the survey answers to any set of two
questions are independent of each other.6
The first question in the survey ascertains the categories under which each sampled
firm requested an import licence for chicken products for the year 2000. Out of the 112
usable observations for this question, 39.1 percent of the respondents reported that they
had requested licences under the allocation for processing firms, 50.9 percent were
distributors or food-service establishments and 10 percent had requested import licences
under the allocation reserved for traditional importers. Of the 112 respondents,
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