Tariffs from China on U.S. pork products could create opportunities for pork processors in other countries, but for Canadian meat and poultry company Maple Leaf Foods, that idea does not sound appealing.
Speaking during a conference call upon the announcement of Maple Leaf Foods third quarter financial results on October 25, the company’s top executive said it would not seek to ship more pig products to China.
“We have one fixed supply of fresh pork, and it is fixed based on the amount of hogs that we process,” explained Maple Leaf Foods President and CEO Michael H. McCain. “We sell that fixed amount of pork with no intent of growing our raw material supply of pork. That is just our meat procurement strategy
“Even if the market opens up in total, we have no ability to sell increasing quantities into that market, or desires. Our strategy is not to supply pork to the world. Our strategy is to supply pork … to ourselves, to our own brands and to our packaged meat business.”
McCain said any surplus of pork not used in its own supply chain is marketed the best way possible, and often to other markets, but that whatever surplus the company has is “a fixed amount.”
China in April announced that it would place tariffs on U.S. pork, as well as other agricultural and non-agricultural goods, in retaliation to tariffs that the U.S. and President Donald Trump placed on products from China.
McCain’s comments follow a recent visit to Canada from Chinese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Han Changfu, who led a trade delegation to Canada and met Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay. During that visit, the leaders from the two countries discussed their trade relationship and signed cooperation agreements. The Chinese delegation also toured a hog and pork processing facility operated by one of Maple Leaf Foods’ competitors, Olymel.
