It has certainly been very difficult. In B.C. we don't have any really large companies. We don't have any big multinationals. As I always say, even the big companies in B.C. are relatively small on the national scope.
Yes, they are finding it very difficult. I talked to a member last week who over the last four years has almost tripled their top-line growth, but their margin has shrunk by 25%. They are happy to have that expanded distribution and expansion, not just in Canada but into other markets, but for the smaller entrepreneurial businesses that make up the bulk of our membership, it's almost impossible. There are extended blackout periods. Even when you're trying to negotiate a price increase, it could take several months to negotiate. There's not honouring payment terms. If you're a small business and you have an agreement for net 15 days to get paid, it can take 60 to 90 days. A large retailer can hold back on that money. They are making millions of dollars on interest, but that's the risk small businesses have.
I always use the adage that in the processing industry, it's not any one or two things that get you; it's the death by a thousand cuts. Small processors don't even have the luxury of withstanding a thousand cuts. They might have 30 or 40. When they don't get paid on time, it can really risk their very viability, their ability to pay their employees. Then there are also the fees and the charges.
I think probably the most frustrating thing I have been hearing from our members is that they don't have these issues if they are big enough to start exporting and going to the U.S. U.S. retailers are not giving them all the program spends and feeds and fines and retroactive payment adjustments. Here they can be supposed to be getting a cheque and they have $50,000 or $60,000 taken off for some retroactive adjustment from two or three years ago.
It's impossible to even account for those and plan for them. I think that makes it even harder. You have to really keep things very lean and have a very clear understanding of your cost centres. When the goalposts keep moving, when you don't know when you're going to get paid or how much you're going to get paid or how long it will take to get paid, it's very hard to withstand that situation.
I ran out of time in my speaking notes that I shared. I did have a couple of comments about the code of conduct, but it's not directly—