Canada Opens Market to U.S. Hogs

October 8, 1999

Canada has opened its market to U.S. hogs effective immediately. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued a directive that amends Canadian regulations on how U.S. hogs are to be imported. The announcement was made by the office of the U.S. trade representative and USDA.

"The United States is pleased that Canada has finally made the necessary regulatory changes to facilitate trade in U.S. hogs between our two countries," says USTR Charlene Barshefsky. "Combined with the opening of slaughter facilities in Canada, these new regulations will not only help to avoid serious bottlenecks in processing and distribution but will provide U.S. producers with additional market outlets for their production."

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman says U.S. hog producers could export as many as 50,000 hogs next year, valued at about $4 million at current market prices. "This is an important step that will significantly help U.S. hog producers," he adds.

Canada committed to change its animal health requirements to allow U.S. hogs from 37 states designated as free of pseudorabies. Canada made initial changes to the animal health regulations last December, but certain barriers related to handling and distribution procedures remained in place.

The new regulations streamline procedures for handling and distributing hogs, increasing the window of time facilities have to slaughter hogs after they arrive in Canada and give the facilities more options for disposing of hog waste. The certification procedures required to ship hogs from the United States also were simplified, making it economically feasible for U.S. producers to ship hogs to Canada.