December 30, 2019

Canada's Olymel expects increased pork exports to China in 2020

Olymel LP, Canada's biggest pork exporter to China, expects a 60% increase in 2020 with increased demand for the meat and China lifting an import suspension in early November 2019, reported Financial Post.

Richard Davies, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Olymel said China is trying to import as much meat as possible from the company or from others, outstripping supply with demand higher than any other market globally.

The Quebec-based company has four plants in the state approved for exports to China, with a fifth plant to be added after the company completes its takeover of F. Menard, another pork producer in January next year.

China had imposed a ban on all meat imports from Canada in June 2019 after Chinese customs discovered ractopamine in a batch of products from Canada. The feed additive is used to raise leaner swine but it is banned in China.

Pork exports from Canada to China hit 419 million CAD (~US$320.5 million; 1 CAD = US$0.76) by June 2019 before the ban, compared to 514.3 million CAD (~US$393.4 million) total throughout 2018.
 

400,000 tonnes of pork are exported by Olymel per year, with a third of that to China. Even after the four-month ban, Olymel expects to hit that number again this year.

Davies expects Olymel to hit over 200,000 tonnes of pork exports in 2020 and is hoping for its suspended facility in Red Deer to be reinstated for export to China.

-      Financial Post