Food producers ready for NAFTA changes

Article Excerpt

As part of the recent negotiations to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the U.S. has demanded that Canada dismantle its supply management systems. That would open up the domestic dairy and poultry industries to cheaper foreign imports. However, it’s unlikely the Canadian government would agree to the American demands without gaining significant concessions in other industries. Thanks to their strong focus on improving efficiency, Saputo and Maple Leaf Foods are in a strong position to handle foreign competitors. Still, we feel their short-term prospects don’t justify their current stock prices. SAPUTO INC. $45 (Toronto symbol SAP; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 386.5 million; Market cap: $17.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 1.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.saputo.com) is Canada’s largest producer of dairy products, including milk, butter and cheese. It also operates dairies in the U.S., Australia and Argentina. Due to limited opportunities to expand in the highly regulated Canadian dairy market, Saputo tends to use acquisitions to…