Affordable Chicken for Canada Day

Sobey's Foodland (and perhaps other grocery stores owned by this grocery store giant), brought affordable chicken at $1.88 per pound (ie. $ 4.14/kg) to Canadians last week for a 3 day sale; 57.14% less than regular pricing.  I wonder why?

Ontario Canada ad for affordable chicken, offered by Sobey's Foodland
stores in June 2014.  This chicken sale price is just 57.14% of the regular
Ontario retail pricing.  The $1.88/lb sale pricing in Canada is equivalent
to the current, every-day price of US chicken.

Was Sobeys feeling patriotic, in preparation for Canada Day celebrations?  Were they feeling guilty for their prior aiding and abetting of Canada's Chicken Mafia plans to rule the chicken world?  Was Sobeys being cunning at exploiting a known, heart-felt grievance of Canadians, so as to gain market share from its competitors by actually siding (or seeming to side) with consumers?

I have been writing in this Blog of late about the unaffordable chicken prices in Ontario (see LICO-Chicken = "Let them eat Cake"and Unaffordable Chicken in Ontario and Squeezing The Pimple).  This affordable chicken sale is quite a contrast to that historically bleak pricing of chicken.

I have written an email to both Sobeys and MapleLodge Farms (the Canadian supplier of the affordable chicken being sold by Sobeys) seeking more information on their motivations and corporate policies on this affordable chicken.  Hopefully, we will soon learn more about this fantastic sale of affordable chicken in Ontario.

The Meat Department Manager at my local Foodland store told me that he brought in 720 chickens in preparation for this sale.  All of those 720 birds were sold out in Day 2 of the 3 day sale.  He also said that those 720 birds were equivalent to the amount of chicken he would typically sell in a month.

It appears that Canadians are ready, willing, and able to respond when the price is right.

This chicken sale is even more remarkable, as beef  and pork prices go through the roof; beef because of the herd collapse in US due to the severe drought in the South West USA, and pork because of the herd decimation from the on-going PED virus that is killing pigs throughout North America.  With beef and pork prices rising for understandable reasons, the Chicken Mafia could have ridden on their coat tails, but Sobeys Foodland comes in with a huge sale that significantly helps consumers.

I guess we shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, just count our blessings.

So a sincere tip of the hat and heartfelt appreciation goes out to Sobeys, and/or Sobey's Foodland, and/or MapleLodge Farms for bringing this sale of affordable chicken to Canadians.  If you started the idea, approved it, or aided in making it happened, you are to be congratulated for doing so.

Affordable chicken comes to Ontario for 3 days. Don't stop now, just 362 more days to go!