Canada’s agriculture minister says federal programs designed to assist the Canadian pork industry as it recovers from three years of depressed prices are working.
Last August the federal government unveiled a three part plan to assist Canada’s pork industry in recovering from a prolonged period of depressed prices brought on by high input costs, an over supply of hogs, the strong Canadian dollar, U.S. Country of Origin Labelling and the global recession.
The package includes funding for international pork marketing initiatives, access to interest bearing government backed loans and incentives to help struggling operations transition out of the industry.
Yesterday, following the delivery of the speech from the throne, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz told reporters the recovery plan is working.
As you know the economy world wide put a hold on a lot of red meat sales.
Certainly Canada was affected by that when we export a vast majority of our pork and beef.
Having said that we’re starting to see some turnarounds, not necessarily U.S. bound but in some of the other markets that we’ve been able to tap.
We’re just able to get pork back into China.
We think that’s a tremendous step forward.
That’s a 50 million dollar advantage that we have over the Americans and the Australians at this point, thanks in part to the great team that I have here at Ag Canada and the great product that we have to sell.
The application deadline for loans under the Hog Industry Loan Loss Reserve Program is March 26th and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has estimated 25 percent of Canadian production is now being financed under that program.
The fourth and final tender under the Hog Farm Transition Program, under which another 14 million dollars will be allocated to producers who agree to idle barns for a minimum of three years, is slated for March 10th.
Ritz says the economies of scale and market forces are starting to drive the situation back to a positive, we’re seeing American buyers returning to Canada for feeder pigs and what was a 50 dollar pig they’re now offering 70 dollars for.
Source: Farmscape.Ca
