Smuggling might not be the oldest profession but it’s been around for as long as rules restricting trade.
It doesn’t usually involve something regarded as a staple food, but police in Canada are on the trail of contraband cheese:
. . . It seems someone has been smuggling cheap pizza ingredients north across the US-Canada border. Smuggling cheese across the border – may not seem as serious as drugs or contraband but it’s still very profitable and illegal. . .
The reason it’s profitable is Canada’s highly protected dairy industry.
The solution to the problem is simple – Canada should stop protecting inefficient farmers.
Opening the borders will increase choice and supply and reduce costs for consumers. It will also encourage efficiency among Canadian farmers who will have to meet the market or get out of the industry.
Hat tip: Black markets in everything cheese edition at Offsetting Behaviour.
