Arthur Pelliccione
Pat Pelliccione (ICCC Chair) and Joe Dal Ferro (ICCC Vice Chair) at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland
Who We Are
Based in Ottawa (Canada), the ICCC is an association of small- and medium-sized cheese importers and their suppliers. Founded in 1976, we are the only association in Canada exclusively dedicated to the importation of cheese into Canada. Our Members are Canadian importers of cheese; our Associate Members are cheese producers and processors from various countries that have signed international trade treaties with Canada - such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany and New Zealand.
The ICCC works on behalf of our Members and Associate Members to ensure that Canada’s cheese TRQs are put in the hands of those most likely to use it. Such an outcome increases quota fill rates – to everyone’s benefit.
The ICCC has co-existed with Canada’s supply-managed dairy sector for over 45 years and recognizes the rationale underlying the supply management system – we are not advocating for the dismantling of the supply management. However, the ICCC does advocate for the removal of impediments to importing within quota; and more efficient and less burdensome administration of the TRQ system. Our goal in seeking these improvements is to reduce costs for businesses and consumers, generate an increase in cheese consumption, and promote business stability.
ICCC Members and Associate Members have successfully grown the Canadian market through creative marketing and by providing more choice to consumers. They have demonstrated their ability to successfully market new cheeses from different countries by delivering them to Canadian consumers and broadening their tastes for dairy products. In the process, ICCC Members have created value-added jobs in Canada. Many ICCC Members and Associate Members have spent their careers developing the unique expertise necessary to procuring and distributing international specialty cheeses, managing import logistics, and selling cheese through national distribution networks.
Council Directors
Andrei Nicola
Patrick Pelliccione
Alexander Alexakis
Christoph Preusser
Myles Dew
Leeola Zanetti
Joe Dal Ferro
Council Executive
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