September 20, 2007

Impact of China's ban on pork from Maple Leaf facility minimal

China's ban on pork exports from one of Maple Leaf's pork facility would not impact the company's bottom line, an analyst said. 

Maple Leaf Foods Inc.'s Brandon pork facility was removed from China's approved supplier list after two shipments from that location were found to contain ractopamine residues. 

Maple Leaf 's exports to China are minimal and would no longer be a factor to its revenues once the company is fully integrated, Octagon Capital analyst Robert Gibson said.

However, there may be a small impact if Maple Leaf fail to resell the returned pork chops, Gibson said.

China turned back pork chops and pig kidneys from two US shipments over the weekend on discovery of the banned drug. Ractopamine is used in some pork-producing countries like the US and Canada as a growth-stimulant but banned in most parts of the world.