One of Quebec’s largest pork processing companies will be closing slaughter operations in Vallée-Jonction. Olymel says weekly slaughter numbers are declining, which the Canadian Pork Council says will force their pork industry to be more efficient.
“This will mean there will be a reduction in pork production. Some producers, most likely, will close. We are building a pool program among producers in Quebec. Ultimately, it will reduce the quantity of pork produced. So, what we want is a business partnership that will allow production and processing sector to be more sustainable and more resilient,” said Rene Roy.
While the decline in slaughter, industry leaders will now focus their marketing on the value-added processing industry as well as the domestic Canadian market.
“Our preferred market is the Canadian market, for different reasons. Any border can go through struggles. For live pigs, we cannot wait, they have to be shipped. We are better off if our industry is able to process our pigs in Canada. We have observed, especially during the last two years, that having a good relationship with our domestic market is really important.”
The slaughter closure by Olymel is the latest in several pork facility closures in Quebec over the last two years.
