Farmscape for October 2, 2018

The Canadian Pork Council expects a new U.S. Mexico Canada trade agreement to eliminate the market uncertainty has negatively affected North American hog prices.
Canada, the United States and Mexico have agreed on a modernized trilateral trade agreement, the United States Mexico Canada Agreement, or USMCA which will replace NAFTA.
Gary Stordy, the Director of Government and Corporate Affairs with the Canadian Pork Council, says the fact that we have a deal helps alleviate some of the uncertainty that has negatively affected hog markets and has been a major concern for pork producers.

Clip-Gary Stordy-Canadian Pork Council:
There's two aspects of trade for the Canadian industry.
We have the meat trade where it's fresh or chilled or frozen pork that is shipped globally, depending on the market and what it is but we also have live animal trade.
When you factor all that together we export about 70 percent of what we produce and approximately 35 percent of that heads south, whether it's the United States or Mexico.
The North American market is not insignificant.
We do strive to diversify but we are so integrated that it really allows us to be globally competitive and that's where some of the merit is on this deal.
But, for the most part for producers, it eliminates some of the uncertainty.

Stordy says pork producers on both sides of the Canada U.S, border recognize the importance of trade and have been working collaboratively to highlight its importance.
He says moving forward with a modernized deal that doesn't introduce any new tariffs or hindrances is certainly positive.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork