The Hog Industry Loan Loss Reserve Programme, offered through Canada's chartered banks and credit unions as part of a federal government pork industry restructuring plan, was designed to allow pork producers to restructure existing debt.

Although the numbers may change as producers approved for loans decide whether or not to follow through, only about 270 million dollars of the 451 million dollar fund had been allocated by the 26 March application deadline.

Canadian Pork Council President Jurgen Preugschas says, while there was considerable producer interest, the programme's effectiveness has been limited.

Jurgen Preugschas-Canadian Pork Council

This was a vehicle that producers saw as getting their cash flow back in line and having some cash to continue operating.

The results on that one again speak for themselves that it's been quite disappointing.

Less than 300 producers have been accepted under the programme out of our eight thousand producers.

That doesn't take a mathematician to figure out that that's a very very low percentage.

Having said that it was successful for some of our operations and those that have received the loan, it has worked very very well for them.

Mr Preugschas says there was confusion on the part of both producers and lenders, in some cases producers were discouraged from applying and didn't apply, some felt the interest rates were to high and didn't apply, some applied and were not accepted and some applied and were accepted.

He says the feeling is that the unused balance of the funding allocated for loan restructuring should be reallocated to other efforts assist Canadian pork producers and CPC will be making a formal request to the Agriculture minister to reprofile that money.