Canada’s pork producers were struggling in the first half of 2013 before experiencing a stronger second half coming into 2014. Both Russia and China banned U.S. pork in the beginning of 2013 because of the presence of ractopamine putting downward pressure on hog prices until the middle of the year. At the mid-point of 2013, U.S. pork exports began to increase to Mexico and resume once again to China at the same time as record high beef prices resulted in increased domestic consumption of pork. By the fourth quarter the Canadian dollar decreased from on par to approximately US.93, and feed costs were significantly in decline as bumper grain crops clogged the country. Because these beneficial factors did not come into play until the fourth quarter of 2013, pork producers did not see much benefit within that year. However, as the industry stands coming into 2014 with the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the EU soon to be finalized opening up EU markets, the outlook for the industry coming into 2014 is a positive one.
To receive relevant news stories with summaries provided by GAI Research & Insight, subscribe to Global AgDevelopments, our free bi-weekly enhanced eNews service