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Hog inventories
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Hog inventories tumbled for the second consecutive quarter, despite high international demand for Canadian hogs and pork. Soft slaughter prices and high feed costs continued to adversely affect the hog industry in Canada.
Hog producers reported 14.4 million hogs on their farms as of October 1, 2007, according to a survey of producers taken in September. This was down 1.7% from the second quarter of 2007, and 3.1% below the same date last year.
Hog prices continued to be soft as they have been since 2005, in part because of a stronger Canadian dollar. Although prices have improved modestly in recent months, they are still well below those recorded in the same period in 2005. Prices as of August 2007 were about 4.6% higher than the same period in 2006, but still 11.6% below the 2005 average.
Farmers exported hogs, principally to the United States, at a record pace—an estimated 7.2 million hogs during the first nine months of 2007. This surpassed the previous record established in 2006. With rising feed costs, the weaner export market remains attractive to Canadian farrowing producers. The small weaner pigs are fed on US farms before being sent to market in that country.
The record exports, combined with recent stronger prices, helped push hog farm cash receipts up during the first half of 2007, climbing to $1.8 billion, a 7.8% increase from the same period last year.
Hog slaughter in Canada slipped 2.9% in the first nine months of 2007 from the same period in 2006. Domestic slaughter had risen steadily from 1999 to 2004, reaching a record high of 22.9 million head in 2004. Since then, levels have been declining. This decline coincides with a shrinking of domestic hog slaughter capacity.
Available on CANSIM: table 003-0004.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3460.
The report, Hog Statistics, Vol. 6, no. 4 (23-010-XIE, free), is now available on our website. From the Publications module, choose Free Internet publications, then Agriculture.
For general information, contact Client Services (toll-free 1-800-465-1991). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Yukman Cheung (613-951-9180; yukman.cheung@statcan.gc.ca), Agriculture Division.
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