I will focus on the sector I am most familiar with, the artisanal sector. Of course, the impact will vary from one company to another, but the fact remains that most of the 40 companies rely heavily on marketing outside our respective regions. So we must inevitably compete in major markets, including Quebec City, Montreal, Trois-Rivières and Sherbrooke. Most retailers, be they specialty cheese shops or big ones, will certainly take some of our products, but they will also take a lot of imported cheeses, including industrial productions, which use a dairy ingredient in many so-called fine cheeses. Clearly, we are faced with stiff competition on that front.
The fact remains that the impact is significant for industrial cheese producers as well, especially since some of them are quota holders. They are required to bring in those cheeses even if the imported cheeses are directly competing with the products they process. There used to be a limit when supply management protected us and ensured that Canadian and Quebec products were in the majority on our markets.
This new situation will inevitably bring about changes, including a large amount of European fine cheeses. And it is not always easy for consumers to differentiate between foreign and domestic products. This will definitely have a major impact on them. Despite some products having a dairy ingredient, the fact that European producers are currently able to make cheeses at such a low cost makes the situation very challenging for us.