Farm-Scape is sponsored by Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork Play Audio Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork.

Farm-Scape, Episode 1273

The US based National Pork Producers Council says the prospects of Country of Origin Labelling becoming mandatory are already starting to negatively impact the North American pork industry.

Country of Origin Labelling is due to become mandatory in the United States in September 2002.

The National Pork Producers Council has been working extremely hard to get the mandatory component of the legislation overturned.

NPPC President Jon Caspers says, if the provision proceeds, Canada will be forced to adapt by finishing more hogs and producing more pork which will displace US pork on the international market.

"Already I think we're starting to see people getting prepared.

I think we're seeing people in this country hesitant about signing any long term contracts to procure feeder pigs or weaned pigs out of Canada.

We expect that the value of Canadian pigs coming to the United States will be discounted and actually discounted, we think, pretty substantially.

We don't think that's sustainable over a long period of time.

We expect your Canadian producers, who aren't finishing those animals up there, are going to respond to that and expand the finishing industry in Canada and expand the packing industry.

I think we're seeing a lot of interest in building finishing facilities in Canada today and so the markets are already starting to be impacted.

We're working as quickly as we can.

Obviously our congress and legislature don't move any faster than the legislatures in Canada but we're hopeful that, by the end of this year, we can get this overturned and have a successful outcome".

Caspers says, in the long term, the added record keeping costs resulting from mandatory Country of Origin Labelling will make US producers less competitive on the export market.

He predicts the Canadian industry will step up and move into those markets that the US industry will lose and that Canada will become a bigger player in the US market.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.