Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Feds give $1 million to swine exporters

The federal government is giving more than $1 million to the Canadian Swine Exporters Association.

David Matthews, MP for the Woodstock area, made the announcement on behalf of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz who was in China announcing a trade deal that will open that market for bone-in Canadian beef and live cattle.

The government said in a news release that “this investment will help CSEA members increase awareness of the value and quality of Canadian swine by participating in key international trade shows and leading targeted trade missions.

“It will also ensure that Canada remains a world leader in swine genetics, particularly in attributes that improve meat quality, feed efficiency, environmental issues, and biosecurity.”

Canada is the third-largest pork exporter in the world, with sales of more than $3.6 billion to more than 100 countries worldwide.

Many of the pigs come from southwestern Ontario and via Donaldson Swine of Tavistock.

Other members of the association include Alliance Genetics Inc., Richard Stein-Stein BMR Genetics Ltd., Great Canadian Swine Exports Inc., International Genetics Ltd., Ontario Swine Improvement Inc., Proline Group (Canada) Inc. and Polar Genetics (2012) Ltd., all of Ontario, and three Manitoba-based members, ADSGO Trading Corp., Genesus Genetics and Designed Genetics Inc.

The trade agreement between Canada and the European Union will significantly boost trade and investment ties. Once fully implemented, this agreement will give Canadian farmers yearly duty-free access for up to 80,000 tonnes of pork, the news release noted. 

This money is drawn from the $341-million five-year AgriMarketing Program administered by the federal agriculture department.