Statistics Canada released yesterday its latest estimates as to the supply of cattle, hogs and sheep in Canada and the inventory numbers so far show little impetus for growth. This is important as Canada is a significant supplier of feeder pigs to the US market and imports of feeder cattle and slaughter cows make up a notable portion of the beef supply in some areas of the US.

Below are some of the highlights from the latest Canadian numbers and implications for North American red meat output going forward:

The hog inventory in Canada as of 1 July was reported at 12.913 million head, 0.6 per cent higher than a year ago. Canada has changed the way in which it reports hog inventories, with the survey now conducted only twice a year. The Canadian hog breeding stock was reported at 1.216 million head, only slightly larger than the same period a year ago but some 25 per cent lower than the peak in 2005.

The Canadian pig crop for the first half of the year was pegged at 15.2 million head, 2.6 per cent lower than the same period the previous year. Farrowing intentions for the second half of 2013 were down 2.1 per cent from the previous year, which would imply a smaller pig crop for the back end of 2013 and fewer hogs coming to market in 2014.