Reading Time: < 1 minute Glacier FarmMedia’s John Greig attended the recent Ontario Pork Congress in Stratford, Ont., and spoke with the chair of Ontario Pork about the future of the province’s pork industry and what role international markets are likely to play in the coming future.

VIDEO: Hog farmers at Ontario Pork Congress optimistic

Canadian pork shipment flagged in China for ractopamine
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — A Canadian shipment of pig feet to China, produced by meat packer Olymel, has tested positive for residues of banned growth drug ractopamine and may curb future trade, Canadian government and industry officials say. China views the tainted shipment as a “systemic failure” of Canada’s program that certifies pork sent to China […] Read more

Ag groups tout potential of trade pact with China
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian ag commodity groups expect to make a case for freer trade with China during consultations now underway alongside Ottawa’s talks on a possible free trade deal with Beijing. Federal Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne on Friday announced public consultations, running until June 2, following last September’s announcement of “exploratory discussions” on a free trade agreement […] Read more

A sweet sweet story
How Canada's first large-scale importer and distributor of halal gummies was born
Reading Time: 3 minutes Growing up, Lindsay Contractor’s sweet tooth was finely tuned to the nuances of fluffy marshmallows and chewy gummies. But when she began practicing Islam in 2011, those sugary treats took a sour turn. “I grew up in a world full of lots of gummies and marshmallows, and I never thought twice about eating them, I […] Read more

Fat herds, leaner profits: For China’s pig farmers, New Year feasts bring cold comfort
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing/Reuters – With China’s Lunar New Year festivities fast approaching, pig farmers in the world’s biggest pork market have little to cheer. As they fatten herds to meet peak demand, a slump in retail prices and a spike in feed costs are grinding up profits. A wave of imports has squeezed pork retail prices 10 […] Read more

Olymel buys Alberta hog farming operation
Reading Time: 2 minutes Pork and poultry processor Olymel has tightened the links in the hog supply chain for its Alberta pork plant by buying supplier Pinnacle Farms. Olymel, the meat packing arm of Quebec’s La Coop federee, announced Friday it has bought Standard, Alta.-based Pinnacle, including all its hog inventory, for an undisclosed sum. The company’s 30 employees […] Read more

Argentina pledges access for Canadian pork
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada and Argentina are in late-stage talks that would see Canadian pork exporters regain access to that South American market. Following a meeting between Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the federal government last Friday said the two countries have “acknowledged the necessary steps to complete the process to allow for […] Read more

Maple Leaf profit jumps by over 70 per cent
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Meat processor Maple Leaf Foods on Wednesday reported a 70.4 per cent jump in quarterly profit as lower costs and higher prices boosted earnings at its prepared meats business. Maple Leaf said adjusted operating earnings in its meat products unit, the company’s primary source of income, more than doubled to $65.93 million in […] Read more

U.S. pork packing plant boom may boost hog prices
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago / Reuters – The U.S. pork industry could be heading for higher hog prices as processing plants come on line at an unprecedented rate with packers investing millions of dollars to satisfy the appetite of protein-hungry China, industry analysts said. Pork packers including Seaboard Foods and Triumph Foods, who slaughter hogs and turn them into […] Read more

Beijing to release frozen pork to temper price rise
Reading Time: < 1 minute Beijing | Reuters –– Beijing will release 3.05 million kilograms of frozen pork from its reserves over the next two months to combat rising pork prices, the city government said on Wednesday. Starting from Thursday and lasting until July 4, the Beijing municipal government will sell 50,000 kg of pork each day to 121 supermarket chains […] Read more