The Chair of Manitoba Pork says the Donald Trump presidency and trade were the foremost issues discussed during this week’s trade mission to the Minnesota Pork Congress in Minneapolis.
A trade delegation representing Manitoba Pork traveled to Minnesota this week to take part in the Minnesota Pork Congress and meet with U.S. producers and government officials, including U.S. State Senate staff and the Minnesota Commissioner of Agriculture and discuss issues of mutual concern and will travel to Des Moines next week to take part in the Iowa Pork Congress.
Manitoba Pork Chair George Matheson says there’s a great deal of interest in the new Trump government coming in.
There was lots of talk during the campaign about trade and changes to the NAFTA agreement so trade I would say was the number one thing discussed and how we’re both very reliant on it. We’re both exporting nations. Canada, 65 percent of their product, the U.S. about 30 percent.
We may send a lot of pigs down into the U.S. but about 25 percent of the pork consumed by Canadians comes from the U.S. as well so it’s an integrated industry and the movement of pork going both directions.
Right now slaughter in the U.S. which is where our price is derived amounts to 2.4 or 2.5 million hogs every week. Usually anything over 2.1 million animals is cumbersome and the price has stayed reasonably strong and that’s due to the trade relations that the U.S. and Canada have had.
What’s been good for trade recently has been deals with China. Both countries, considering the number of hogs right now that are being processed, are very aware that trade is very important since domestic consumption will not use it all.
~ George Matheson, Manitoba Pork
Matheson says there’s not much difference in opinion among Canadian and American pork producers on trade.
