Manitoba Pork Council congratulates Maple Leaf Foods on its announcement to invest $85 million to upgrade their St. Boniface plant to increase its capacity to produce high-quality hams and bacon products for worldwide markets.
Combined with the increase in the slaughter and processing capacity of Maple Leaf Foods’ plant in Brandon, our producers are assured of future demand for pigs over the next 20-30 years.
Manitoba produces approximately 4.2 million pigs for slaughter and processing and exports about 3.4 million weanling pigs for export to the United States. Over 13,000 Manitobans depend on the pork industry for their livelihood. The pork sector is a major exporter to other provinces, Japan, the United States, Mexico, China and many other countries. Total farm gate sales for 2011 will be over $700 million.
While the industry has been through a tough three years of losses, world pork prices have climbed because of huge demand from developing countries. Manitoba is a low-cost pork production area and is well placed to provide high-quality meat products to discriminating markets across the world. The investment by Maple Leaf Foods in its Winnipeg plant is proof of their confidence in the future of the pork industry in Manitoba.
Manitoba Pork Council represents the province’s 500 pork producers.
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