Century-old Canadian dairy producer looks to overseas markets amid US tariff threats

A century-old Canadian dairy producer is seeking to expand into emerging Asian markets in the face of the sweeping global tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The United States had a trade surplus of 530 million Canadian dollars with Canada in 2024, but the Trump administration still accused Canada of unfair trade practices and imposed additional tariffs. For now, the tariffs mainly impact the steel and auto industries, but the administration has threatened to take aim at more product categories, including dairy.

That could significantly increase supply chain costs, forcing Canadian dairy producers to either raise prices or risk losing their market share.

Like many other Canadian dairy producers, Avalon Dairy relies on the U.S. raw materials and processing ability and sells its finished products to the U.S. market. Now, it finds itself grappling with the potential impacts of the tariffs.

"Our goal is not to replace high cost. It's to maintain our quality. But we could see increases. We could see increases. And if it's 10 percent, it could be up to 40-50 cents per container on a product that sells and retails for five dollars," said Russ Rimmer, CEO of Avalon Dairy.

Avalon Dairy is also shifting its focus toward emerging Asian markets, where fewer trade restrictions provide better opportunities for growth.

"We lend that back into our Plan B's. The Asian market is unique for us. We don't have those tariffs and duties that are restrictive to our prices. So therefore it makes it a huge opportunity for us," Rimmer said.

Century-old Canadian dairy producer looks to overseas markets amid US tariff threats

Century-old Canadian dairy producer looks to overseas markets amid US tariff threats

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight