New Canada hog plant to proceed but Olymel bows out
Published: December 12, 2006
Source : Olymel
We are committed to this project and we will seek the necessary expertise we require to bring this project to conclusion," spokesman Guy Baudry told reporters at a news conference.
Among the other partners, Olymel LP, one of Canada's largest meat processors, will bow out of the project to focus on restructuring its Quebec-based operations, Chief Executive Rejean Nadeau said.
And Saskatchewan producer Big Sky Farms has left the project partly because of a recent moratorium on hog barn construction by the Manitoba government, a spokesman said.
Hytek, one of Canada's largest hog producers, may look for new partners as it moves forward on the plant, which is currently in the environmental licensing stage, Baudry said.
Hytek was the majority project shareholder from the start, Baudry said, adding the company was confident it could finance the plant.
Hytek produces more than 1.2 million hogs per year, about half of what the plant would need to slaughter 45,000 hogs per week. Baudry said the company would sign up other producers to supply the balance of the plant's needs.
The company's high degree of hog ownership will help the plant succeed despite difficult economic conditions in the industry, he said.
Canada's two largest pork processors have been hit hard by the sharp rise in the Canadian dollar, which has made exports more expensive.
Maple Leaf Foods Inc. recently restructured its operations to exit the pork export business, which will see the closure of several plants.
On Monday, Olymel said it would close two plants in Quebec on March 30 that handled 10,000 hogs per week, hogs that will be easily absorbed by excess capacity in the province, CEO Nadeau said.
The company is grappling with plants that are too small, wages that are higher than those of its competitors, and other structural problems, Nadeau said.
Olymel is also trying to attract enough foreign workers to staff a second shift at its Red Deer, Alberta pork plant, which should be possible within 18 months, he told.
Manitoba farmers need the Olywest plant so that they can stop exporting so many hogs to the United States, a practice which in the past has triggered trade complaints from U.S. producers, said Karl Kynoch, chairman of the Manitoba Pork Council.
In 2005, Manitoba exported 3.6 million weanlings and 1.3 million market hogs worth C$405 million to the United States.
Source
OlymelRelated topics:
Recommend
Comment
Share
Would you like to discuss another topic? Create a new post to engage with experts in the community.
Featured users in Pig Industry
