Canadian Hog Statistics - First Quarter 2010

Tuesday May 04 2010
by The Pig Site

 

Canadian Hog Statistics - First Quarter 2010

By Statistics Canada. In the survey on 1 April, producers reported two per cent total pigs on farm than a year previously, and 5.7 per cent fewer sows, continuing the decline in the Canadian pig population. Slaughter numbers have remained steady for the last three quarters.

 

Highlights

  • As of 1 April 2010, Canadian hog producers reported 11.6 million hogs on farm, down 2.1 per cent from the same date in 2009.

  • Sows inventory is reported at 1.3 million head, down 5.7 per cent from 1 April 2009. The numbers of sows expected to farrow in the second and third quarters this year have decreased by 2.1 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively, from one year prior.

  • Canadian hog exports totalled 1.4 million in the first quarter of 2010, down 20.5 per cent from the same period last year.

  • Hog slaughter has been stable at 5.5 million head for each of the past three quarters.

Analysis

As of 1 April 2010, Canadian hog producers reported 11.6 million hogs on farm, down 2.1 per cent from the same date in 2009.

Table 1: Hog inventories on 1 April and 1 January
  1 April 2009 1 January 2010 1 April 2010 January to April 2010 April 2009 to April 2010
  thousands of head per cent change
Canada 11,885.0 11,835.0 11,635.0 -1.7 per cent -2.1 per cent
East 6,995.0 6,920.0 6,759.0 -2.3 per cent -3.4 per cent
Atlantic 149.7 129.2 123.9 -4.1 per cent -17.2 per cent
Quebec 3,870.0 3,920.0 3,900.0 -0.5 per cent 0.8 per cent
Ontario 2,975.3 2,870.8 2,735.1 -4.7 per cent -8.1 per cent
West 4,890.0 4,915.0 4,876.0 -0.8 per cent -0.3 per cent
Manitoba 2,477.0 2,530.0 2,550.0 0.8 per cent 2.9 per cent
Saskatchewan 760.0 780.0 740.0 -5.1 per cent -2.6 per cent
Alberta 1,540.0 1,505.0 1,490.0 -1.0 per cent -3.2 per cent
British Columbia 113.0 100.0 96.0 -4.0 per cent -15.0 per cent

Year-to-year hog inventories have continued to decrease since 2006. The largest decrease was 11.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008. The decline of the hog industry is slowing, despite some farms still exiting with the assistance of the federally funded Hog Farm Transition Programme.

The increases in Quebec and Manitoba inventories are not a reflection of industry expansion but rather a slow-down in farrowings last year. In British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and in the Atlantic region, inventories are down as producers continue to downsize production.

Sows inventory is reported at 1.3 million head, down 5.7 per cent from 1 April 2009. The number of sows expected to farrow in the second and third quarters this year has decreased 2.1 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively, from one year prior. Following the fourth tender, 131,021 sows were registered in the Hog Farm Transition Programme. Some of these sows have already been removed from production. The remaining sows will be removed in the coming months.

Total hogs produced in Canada, which are either slaughtered in Canada or exported on the international market, was less than 7.0 million hogs in the first quarter of 2010. This is down 5.9 per cent and 16.6 per cent from the same periods in 2009 and 2008, respectively. Of the total hogs produced in Canada, 20.1 per cent were shipped to the United States in the first quarter of 2010, a level not seen since 2003. This proportion peaked at 35.0 per cent during the first quarter of 2008.

Canadian hog exports totalled 1.4 million in the first quarter of 2010, down 20.5 per cent from the same period last year. The largest decrease in exports for the first quarter of 2010 occurred in Saskatchewan and in the Atlantic region down 68.3 per cent, and 66.9 per cent, respectively. Decreases in all other provinces, with the exception of British Columbia, were less than 20.0 per cent. Exports in British Columbia increased 66.7 per cent. Hog slaughter has been stable at 5.5 million head for each of the past three quarters.

The estimated number of hog farms on 1 April 2010 is 7,150. For the first time the average number of hogs per farm exceed more than 1,600 hogs.

Further Reading

- You can view the full report by clicking here.

April 2010



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