MBiz

Winter 2024

Manitoba Chamber of Commerce

Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/1528090

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PORK: VITAL FOR MANITOBA Manitoba's hog farmers are proud of the work they do each day, building communities and providing high-quality food for a growing world. 90 percent of the eight million pigs raised in Manitoba each year are exported, either as packages of pork shipped around the world or as live animal exports to the United States. 22,000 Manitobans rely on these integral trading relationships for their living, and Manitoba relies on the $2.3 billion that the hog sector contributes to the provincial GDP each year to fund key priorities, like hospitals, highways, and schools. PROTECTING OUR HOG SECTOR In a time of rising protectionism, both from the United States and around the world, sectors like ours rely on governments to work together collaboratively and fairly to ensure a level playing field. Issues like California's Proposition 12, country of origin labelling, and the upcoming renewal of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement loom large. We need all levels of government to work together to ensure the best interests of agriculture are at the table negotiating in good faith. Farmers who rely on international markets face significant market access threats that will have substantial negative impacts on incomes, especially in Western Canadian provinces, if we fail to act. There needs to be a concerted effort to develop a comprehensive agriculture and food trade strategy aimed at protecting the trade access we have today and breaking open new opportunities to offset protectionist threats. 55% of all agriculture and food manufacturing jobs in Manitoba rely on the province's hog sector, and hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested by companies to further increase value-added processing capacity. These investments benefit us all, and need to be safeguarded to ensure future prosperity for our province. manitobapork.com Manitoba's hog sector is the 2 nd largest exporter of Canadian pork The hog sector is responsible for 55% of all agriculture and food manufacturing jobs in Manitoba. 55 % 45 %

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