November 28, 2007

Canadian pork industry facing crisis

The Canadian pork industry is facing a "crisis of epic proportions" and is need of some immediate solutions from the Canadian Government, a release from the Canadian Pork Council said on Tuesday (November 27, 2007).

"The soaring value of the Canadian dollar, staggering increases in the price of feed, and falling hog prices threaten to decimate our entire industry," Clare Schlegel, President of the Canadian Pork Council said.

"The situation is critical," he said, noting that producers are seeing unparalleled losses on their farms, due to circumstances that are completely out of their control.

The Pork Council and its members met with federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, senior officials from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada as well as federal Members of Parliament and many of their provincial counterparts over the past few weeks to discuss what is needed to survive as an industry.

"While helpful, the time has come for action to help Canada's hog producers and their families. Producers need to make important financial decisions now regarding their future," said Schlegel. "They need to know to what extent they will be able to count on their governments to help them transition through this extremely difficult period."

The Canadian Pork Council is asking the government to make improvements to the current Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization (CAIS) program and for a short-term loan for producers, as well as an immediate advance against future CAIS payments.

Canada's 11,000 hog producers raise nearly 31 million hogs a year. Of that, more than 50 percent is exported, principally to the United States and Japan, the release said.