December 20, 2005

Canada's duties on US corn raise hog feed costs
 

Anti-dumping duties on US grain corn imposed recently by the Canada Border Services Agency, would create much uncertainty for the future of Canada's livestock industry, Canadian group Sask Pork said.
 

Sask Pork's general manager Neil Ketilson said the duty would increase costs of hog feed in eastern Canada by one-third, as corn is used more extensively there. He added that feed costs in Saskatchewan province would rise as well.

Ketilson said higher feed prices might encourage more Canadians to send their weanlings into the US to be fed on the cheap American corn. The animals would then be processed there.

He also expressed concerns that domestic hog producers would face difficulty staying above the break-even point, due to low hog prices recently and the higher feed costs.