“It is quite clear to me from our discussions that pork farmers from all across North America share the same abiding commitment to providing consumers a nutritious, safe and affordable food supply,” said Jean-Guy Vincent, Chair of the Canadian Pork Council. “Pork producers will continue to adapt to consumer demands but this must occur in partnership with the entire value chain and government.”

“Hog farmers, to survive in the fiercely competitive international pork market, must be able to recover their costs of production,” added Mr Vincent, who farms in Sainte-Séraphine, Québec. “Recent announcements from a wide array of companies engaged in the North American pork supply chain, outlining new purchasing and sourcing requirements have been made without adequate discussions on the repercussions at the farm level.”

The Mexican, US and Canadian producer representatives also discussed several others areas of common interest including the potential for Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations to open up additional export opportunities for the North American pork industry, a desire for the United States to come into compliance with WTO rulings on Country-of-Origin Labelling (COOL) and to thus avoid retaliatory actions by Canada and Mexico, and the need for science-based food safety and animal health regulations that avoid unnecessary disruptions to trade.

The next meeting will take place in the fall of 2013 and be hosted by the National Pork Producers Council.