Alberta Pork: Prices moderated just in time to save industry

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  Andrea Gantz

  Live hog prices turned around just in time to avoid disaster in the pork industry, said Frank Novak, chair of Alberta Pork.

  From WATTAgNet:
  The turnaround in live hog prices came just in time to avert a disaster within the Canadian pork industry, said Frank Novak, chairman of Alberta Pork.
  "Our industry has finally seen a better year in 2014 than what we've had for several years before and so we hope that some of the drivers of that better return year will stick around for a while,” said Novak.
  Novak said he believes there are opportunities for Canada’s pork industry in terms of international markets and demand, and those opportunities should help carry the Canadian market. Among the opportunities are the South Korean trade agreement and an agreement with the European Union. However, Novak cautions that the Canadian pork industry will not likely fully see the benefits of those trade agreements for several years.
  

  He also noted that the pork industry will be seeing better days because feed prices have become more normalized. “While I don’t think it’ll ever return to the really old days of super cheap grain, it’s certainly much easier to feed our animals now than it was two years ago. I think if it had come any later, it would have been disastrous for our industry,” said Novak.