Alberta Pork has launched a new economics web section designed to support producer success by providing the necessary tools for effective financial decision-making.
The new section includes pork market and hog supply reports, contract pricing breakdowns, information on our cost of production study and the latest economic research. In the coming weeks, Alberta Pork, in collaboration with the Canadian Pork Council (CPC), will launch a pricing calculator to allow producers to use their own numbers for evaluating various contract options.
While the new pricing calculator will not fix the fundamental problems with the pricing structure in western Canada, increased information helps shed light on the options available to producers. Alberta Pork and CPC will provide more information on the pricing calculator when it is ready for producers to use.
Currently, the pricing structure used in the Canadian pork industry is based on mandatory price reporting data collected from U.S. processors by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The data from the U.S., unfortunately, does not reflect the Canadian market or a shared value for pigs. Producers in western Canada continue to lose money on every pig sold, while processors continue to report gains in their reports to shareholders.
“COVID-19 has changed our world, and it is now time to fix the main issue that hampers the Canadian pork industry,” said Darcy Fitzgerald, Executive Director, Alberta Pork. “Producers are simply asking for a system that gives them a financial reason to produce pigs. The catalyst for change is transparency, and it starts by placing as many cards on the table as possible. With the problem fully laid out in the open, it becomes more difficult to avoid solutions that are beneficial to both parties.”
