MBiz | November 2014

HIGH ON THE HOG PORK INDUSTRY WELCOMES TRADE DEAL By Jennifer McFee

T his little piggy is going to market — all the way from Manitoba to the European Union. The Canadian-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is expected to bring benefits to Manitoba’s pork industry by reducing or eliminating tariffs and barriers. And Brandon is particularly well poised to bring home the bacon as the pork-producing hub for the entire country. For Karl Kynoch, chair of the Manitoba Pork Council, CETA is important because it opens up new markets for the export of pork products. “In Manitoba, we export the majority of the product we produce here. Over 90% of the product produced in Manitoba leaves our province. Manitoba exports to over 30 countries out of this province alone, so we are very reliant on export markets,” Kynoch says. “You have to have a number of options and export markets in order to continue to move the product all the time, so getting this European agreement is excellent for the hog industry. It’s going to take some time to implement, but it’s access to another extremely large market.” This increased access is especially important due to recent global events, he notes.

“With all the countries that were imposing sanctions on Russia, Russia has now put a ban on all agricultural products for a year, so the pork that was going into Russia is no longer going there,” Kynoch says. “It’s going to take a number of years to get that full access, but any time that we can increase the access, it’s very important in this market. We lost the Russian market, so you need other options. We have 30 other countries that we ship to, so we’re going to have to look at those options to redirect the pork lost into Russia. The more alternatives you have, the better.” Depending on the country, different parts of the hog are in demand, he adds. “Mexico takes a lot of hams, and we ship parts into China that we don’t use here in Canada. It really depends on the markets. They don’t just ship a whole pig to one country. They ship the parts that they want to buy,” he says. “Sometimes you will have tariffs at a very high level that you have to pay to get pork into those countries, which makes your pork not viable to ship in. So with more free access, then it just simply is good for exports out of the country.”

36 MBiz | November 2014