Month: June 2017

DRC was pleased to once again participate in this year’s CPMA convention and trade show. This year’s event was held May 9-11th at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. It was great to see so many of DRC’s members at CPMA helping to promote DRC services and supporting the pending regulatory changes. We thank and appreciate our members for continuing to be great ambassadors for DRC and for introducing us to prospective members.

DRC participated in the North American Trade Committee (NATC) and the CPMA Government Issues Management (CGIM) meetings. During the trade show, the DRC staff were busy fielding questions at the booth that ranged from membership requirements to anticipated regulatory changes. A number of questions on the dispute resolution process were also fielded.

There was good traffic and a lot of new contacts were made. DRC also noted an increase in company representatives from firms outside of Canada including Mexico, Ecuador, Spain, France, Peru, Egypt and Tunisia. DRC was also pleased to meet with a number of associations in order to provide information and discuss how the pending changes may impact their members. These associations included:

o   The Norfolk Fruit Growers’ Association

o   Ontario Produce Marketing Association

o   Quebec Produce Growers Association

o   B.C. Blueberry Council

o   B.C. Produce Marketing Association

o   PEI Potato Board

o   Potatoes New Brunswick

o   Nova Scotia Department Association

For more information or to see how you can help be a DRC Ambassador, please call or email the DRC Help Desk at:

DRC Help Desk | 613-234-0982 | [email protected]

DRC is pleased to release the 2016 DRC Annual Report. The report includes an overview of membership and trading assistance statistics, the strategic plan, highlights of many of the events DRC attended and an overview of many of the activities in which DRC participated in 2016.

We are pleased to report that we continue to see low numbers in formal arbitration which is a reflection of the consultation process and education expertise DRC provides to the industry. All indications point to members getting used to the rules and resolving issues based on DRC guidance and expertise. It was also interesting to note this year that the report shows continued membership growth and high member retention rates. The report also touches on updates to the Corporate Strategic Plan for 2017-2020 which was approved by the Board in 2016.

Please click here to view the 2016 DRC Annual Report.

DRC members can access a pdf of the full report including financial statements via the members-only portal online at FVDRC.com. Please log in with your password in order to view the full report. Alternatively you may request a pdf copy via email by contacting the Help Desk.

For more information please call or email the DRC Help Desk at:

DRC Help Desk | 613-234-0982 | [email protected]

When engaging in a business deal in the produce industry, be sure to keep written records of your communications. That means keep a copy of all of your notes, a record of your emails and any pertinent documents. If arrangements are made over the phone, be sure to confirm details of the conversation in writing be it in a call log or your supplier file.

How long should you keep these records? There are certain records and documents that must be kept for at least two years including (but not limited to):  invoices, inspections, sales tickets, purchase orders, and bills of lading.

For other written records pertaining to a deal, they should be kept until the file is settled and closed. Should there be an issue that may lead to a dispute, we recommend keeping records for at least 9 months from the time you were aware there was an issue. Nine months is the filling deadline for registering an issue with DRC.

Emails, phone logs, handwritten notes, or supplier file entries are all relevant in the case of a dispute. Any document showing that something has been discussed and agreed to may be deemed pertinent during the dispute resolution process.

A great example is to always be sure to remind the buyer and document in writing that you are expecting a federal inspection unless you agree on a private inspection. Any and all unusual agreements such as private inspections and restrictive contract terms like “FOB Acceptance Final need to be Discussed, Understood & Agreed Upon (DUA). DUA is an acronym you’ll want to remember. The party claiming such special agreements will have the burden of proving they were agreed to if the other party objects when disputes arise.  If you don’t know what all the rules are, you may agree to something that might limit your rights. An arbitrator will look at your notes in the course of the dispute resolution process. Your notes should make it clear what terms have been discussed, agreed and understood between the shipper and the receiver. Stay tuned for more on DUA in a future Solutions article.

For more information please call or email the DRC Help Desk at:

DRC Help Desk | 613-234-0982 | [email protected]