CPTPP: Yogurt and Buttermilk TRQ - Serial No. 1151

October 1, 2025

This Notice replaces Notice to Importers No. 1127 dated May 1, 2024, and sets out the policies and practices pertaining to the administration of Canada’s tariff rate quota (TRQ) for yogurt and buttermilk under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

This Notice is provided pursuant to the authority of the Export and Import Permits Act (EIPA) and its corresponding regulations, and remains in effect until further notice.

Definitions
Allocation policy
Eligibility criteria
Calculation of allocations
Transfer, return and under-utilization of allocations
Related links

Definitions

Yogurt means a product that is included in Item 158 on the Import Control List (ICL), namely yogurt falling under tariff item No. 0403.20.29 in the list of tariff provisions set out in the Schedule to the Customs Tariff.

Buttermilk means a product that is included in Item 124 on the Import Control List (ICL), namely buttermilk falling under tariff item No. 0403.90.91 in the list of tariff provisions set out in the Schedule to the Customs Tariff.

See the List of EIPA commodity codes for yogurt and buttermilk.

Allocation policy

To be eligible, you must be active in the Canadian yogurt and/or buttermilk industry at the time of application, and must remain active regularly during the quota year.

Note: You must, in addition, have been active regularly in the yogurt and/or buttermilk industry during the reference period.

Individual applicants and related persons applicants are eligible for only one allocation.

Note: All applicants must provide a list of related persons.
Note: In the case of separate applications from related persons involving a parent company and one or more subsidiaries, only the application nominated by the parent company is considered.

You must specify in your application the minimum quantity of quota you will accept. If your calculated allocation is less than 20,000 kg, you are issued an allocation only if the quantity you have specified in your application is equal to or lower than your calculated allocation.
You must specify in your application a quantity requested. If your calculated allocation is more than the quantity requested in your application, you are issued an allocation up to the amount you specified.
Please note that 10% of the TRQ is reserved for the importation of goods in bulk (not for retail sale) to be used as ingredients for further food processing (secondary manufacturing). Further food processing (secondary manufacturing) means that the resulting further processed product is a product that is not covered by this TRQ.
Applicants may apply for quota with processing requirements and/or no end-use requirements. Please ensure this is clearly indicated in the application.

Note: Food service establishments (e.g. restaurants) are not considered further processors.

Eligibility criteria

You are eligible for an allocation if you are a:

Processor:

that manufactures yogurt and/or buttermilk in your own provincially-licensed or federally-registered facility.

Further processor:

that uses yogurt and/or buttermilk in your manufacturing operations and product formulation.

Distributor:

that buys yogurt and/or buttermilk and re-sells it to other businesses.

Note: Companies that procure or sell yogurt and/or buttermilk on behalf of others without taking ownership of or financial responsibility for the product are not eligible to apply for an allocation.
Note: Retailers are not eligible to apply for an allocation. A retailer is an establishment that is primarily engaged in retailing food, and which buys yogurt and/or buttermilk and sells it directly to final consumers.

Calculation of allocations

The Minister will allocate the TRQ to processors, further processors and distributors on a market share basis, considering the quantities requested by each eligible applicant, as follows:

Processors:

based on the kilograms of yogurt and/or buttermilk manufactured by the processor during the reference period.

Further processors:

based on the kilograms of yogurt and/or buttermilk used by the further processor, in the manufacturing of further processed food products during the reference period.

Distributors:

based on the kilograms of yogurt and/or buttermilk products sold by the distributor during the reference period.

Note: You must exclude the following products from your application:

products sold to other distributors;
products sold to related persons; and
products sold at the retail level to consumers.

Should 100% of the TRQ not be allocated during the initial allocation process (i.e. no eligible applicants or the quantity requested by all eligible applicants is less than the total quantity of the TRQ), all remaining quantities will be made available for allocation on the department’s website. The eligibility criteria for the allocation of any available quantities continues to apply, with the volumes being allocated on an on-demand basis.

Transfer, return and under-utilization of allocations

If you wish to transfer any portion of your allocation, you must submit a transfer request form.
- Note: Transfer requests will normally be considered and approved on a like-for-like basis. For example, an allocation issued for the importation of goods in bulk to be used as ingredients for further food processing will be approved for transfer on this basis. The department may require evidence that the transferred allocation is utilized in accordance with the conditions under which the TRQ was originally allocated.
You may return any portion of your allocation to the department in writing by the prescribed return date.
- Note: Returned quantities will be made available within two business days after the return date to eligible allocation holders, who have not returned any portion of their allocation, on a market share basis, if the quantity requested exceeds the quantity available. If the quantity requested is less than the quantities available, the reallocation will be done on an on-demand basis. Reallocated quantities will be issued to eligible allocation holders within 14 days of the return date.
If you return 30% or more of your allocation for two consecutive years, your allocation in the following year will be reduced by the average amount of quota returned over those two years.
- Note: This provision does not apply to allocation holders who received an allocation less than 20,000 kg.
If you use less than 90% of your allocation in one year, you will normally have your allocation adjusted downward by an under-utilization penalty in the following year.
- Note: Any portion of your allocation you transfer or return in accordance with the present policy is considered to have been used.

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