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Manitoban Pork producers Told Future Is Bright

MANITOBA - Hog producers have a difficult time bringing home the bacon these days, but Manitoba Pork chairman Karl Kynoch says there is some sizzle on the horizon.

“There’s tough competition on the industry,” Kynoch told a room full of hog producers — including Manitoba Agriculture Minister Rosann Wowchuk — at the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair’s Hog Carcass Luncheon yesterday. “That’s put a lot of pressure on us.”

Kynoch pointed to the inflated Canadian dollar, poor hog prices and the difficult job of making meat in the supermarket traceable back to the original producer.

“Looking at hog prices, right now they’re running at $120 per pig. A lot of us need between $130 to $135 just to break even.” Canadian hogs are facing what Manitoba Pork Council general manager Andrew Dickson calls “extraordinary competition” in the United States.

“The critical thing right now is the margins on finishing animals right now,” Dickson said after the luncheon.

“They subsidize grain down there, and they have large crops in stock. Our dollar has gone up in value, so it’s difficult to sell into international markets.”

Since December, the council has been frustrated by grain corn tariffs imposed by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA). The current duty, set at $1.65 (U.S.) per bushel, will continue to be imposed on imported American grain corn until April 18.

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Source: The Brandon Sun

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