Banff Pork Seminar-Farmscape for January 19, 2006  (Episode 2032)

A Senior Market Analyst with the Guelph, Ontario based George Morris Centre suggests any future potential to expand Canada's swine production will depend on its ability to further develop export markets.

Kevin Grier was in Banff yesterday to address the 35th edition of the Banff Pork Seminar.

He says, while the Canadian pork industry continues to focus on ensuring quality, value and safety, domestic demand has been characterized primarily by its dependable rock solid stability.

Clip-Kevin Grier-George Morris Centre  

Canada, in terms of population, is relatively small with incredible production resources which immediately points to the fact that we need exports in order to survive, in order to be at the size that we are so, in the last few years, pork exports have grown to the point where they exceed our domestic consumption.

When you do export to that degree, and again, it's a given given that we are a small population with relatively stable demand, if we're going to grow it's through the export market.

When you do export you have to be aware of and focused on the risks, not the least of which is foreign animal diseases.

We see what happened to the cattle industry in that regard.

Also ensuring access, making sure there's fewer and fewer barriers to trade through trade negotiations and that sort of thing.

That needs to be a focus.

The third area again is the area again is the area of being competitive in terms of other countries around the world.

We have to be competitive on a cost and quality and an assurance basis so animal disease, access but again competitiveness, those three things are areas of crucial importance.

Again it's an area that the industry is well aware of and is continually working to improve on.

Grier suggests the industry needs to continue to focus on ensuring foreign animal disease is something that only takes place in other countries through safety and protocols while also concentrating on trade negotiations to ensure barriers to trade are continually reduced.

At the Banff Pork Seminar, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council