The General Manager of Manitoba Pork says a combination of factors have come together to justify a period of reinvestment in the province’s pork sector.
“Manitoba Swine Industry, a New era Begins” was discussed yesterday in Winnipeg as part of the 2018 Manitoba Swine Seminar.
Andrew Dickson, the General Manager of Manitoba Pork, says we’re seeing a number of factors coming together to create renewed confidence in the sector, including an 80 cent U.S. Canadian dollar, low interest rates, four years of profits and less a restrictive regulatory environment.
With the Canadian dollar where it is, it makes our exports very attractive in a lot of markets so we’ve been able to consolidate our position in the Japanese market, we’re starting to get back into the South Korean market with the trade agreement we have there.
There’s an opportunity for a limited amount of production to move into the European market and, with the ratification process underway for the TPP-11 or the new version of it, there’ll be new markets opening up over the next ten years that will have significant potential for development. At the same time grain prices seem to be holding their own. They’re not rising dramatically, which is key to us.
The U.S. corn production seems to have now reached a level where it more than meets the needs of the ethanol market which was pushing corn prices to historical highs. We’re hopeful that grain prices will be moderate in terms of any increases and, with continued productivity in terms of genetics and better health management, the opportunities to make some money in this business look pretty good.
~ Andrew Dickson, Manitoba Pork
Dickson says, as producers make long term decisions about their business model and its viability, they are seeing opportunities to replace some existing facilities and to expand their production of finished pigs to better match the processing capacity in the province.
