US Pork Imports To Canada Up, Cdn Shipments Shrink

Exports of fresh, chilled and frozen pork products to Canada from the US have been steadily increasing and the gap between Canadian exports and US imports was seen narrowing further, according to an official with the Canadian Pork Council.

"The amount of US pork being imported into Canada has been steadily rising while shipments of Canadian pork into the US has been slowly declining," Martin Rice, an executive director with the Canadian Pork Council, said.

The decline in Canadian pork products to the US was partly linked to the decline in pork processing in Canada, as well as to Canadian producers who are finding it more profitable to ship their feeder pigs to the US to farrow and finish them, Rice said.

"US meat processors have also had great success in accessing the Canadian market with retail pork," Rice said.

He said there are companies in Canada, such as Costco, who only purchase US pork products. There were also other retailers in Canada which only purchase US pork products and some which purchase a bit of both.

Rice was unsure whether the listeria outbreak experienced by Maple Leaf Foods Inc., had caused a consumer backlash against those pork products and in turn caused a shift to US products at the retail sector.

"I can't tell you for sure as the data on this is not yet available," Rice said.

Meanwhile, the Canadian pork processing business model for the future, seems to be not to get involved in fresh cuts. "That is already evident by the number of businesses which have already left the pork product business," he said.

During calendar year 2007, Canadian imports of US pork was very close to 200,000 metric tons. Canadian pork product exports to the US during 2007, meanwhile, was 353,000 tons, Rice said.

With less pigs to process in Canada, Rice projected that Canadian exports of pork into the US would decline to below 300,000 tons, while imports of US pork remain constant at around 200,000 tons if not a bit higher.

Canadian pork product exports to the US during calendar year 2005 was around 400,000 tons, Rice said. Imports of US pork, meanwhile, was only 122,000 tons.

"One can see how the gap has narrowed in and it appears it will only narrow in further in the years ahead," Rice said.

Canada's pork exports offshore have remained steady, Rice said, but US processors have also been very aggressive on the world market and have been making huge inroads with importing countries.

"The US processors have been providing product in quantities and have been very consistent with delivery that their customers expect and require," Rice said.

"Certainly there has been a bit more focus by Canadian processors in trying to keep their offshore markets rather than maintaining its US market share," Rice said.

He noted the US used to account for 80% of Canada's pork exports, but that number has declined to around 35 to 39%.

Rice predicted that Canada's offshore market share for pork products will decline further, especially as the production of hogs in Canada still has to undergo a further contraction yet.

Hog slaughter capacity in Canada as of November 2007 totalled around 455,000 head a week, Rice said. Capacity in November 2006 was 500,000 head a week.

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