Posted on 09/21/2009, 7:47 am, by mySteinbach

The CEO of the Manitoba Pork Marketing Cooperative reports improved efficiency in the manner in which it operates could result in reductions in the marketing fees it charges members in the future.

Last month the Manitoba Pork Marketing Co-op announced a 50 cent rebate per hog marketed from January 1st to July 31st 2009 for a cumulative total of 330 thousand dollars, equivalent to all marketing fees collected during that period.

CEO Perry Mohr says, while the agency recorded an increase in market share, it’s also finally reaping the benefits of significant restructuring and cost cutting measures which have allowed it to conduct business for less money.

We’re working together with Saskatchewan to get the H@MS (Hog Administrative Marketing Services) organization up and running in the new year, there’s going to be some tweaking to our service package and our cost structure.

There is potential that we could see the marketing fee lowered at some point in the future.

Certainly with what’s happened in the first half of this year it looks favorable in that regard.

It also depends on how our different revenue streams react and, if we do see some fallout from the producer side of things, how our market share is impacted.

One of the things that resulted in the additional revenue was the fact that our market share has actually increased this year.

We’re marketing probably on average 15 percent more hogs on a weekly basis than we had budgeted for so that’s partial responsible for some of that additional revenue.

There’s a lot of unknowns as we forge ahead here in the future and I know producers are going through the same thing so I can’t say for certain what the marketing fee is going to be in the future.

It certainly looks like it won’t be more than 50 cents provided all other factors remain constant.

Mohr notes, since its inception the co-op has issued Pool Price rebates to members totaling 1.8 million dollars.

Source: Farmscape.Ca