Pork product labelling option in U.S. puts Manitoba producers on edge

Selling pigs to the United States could get harder for Lorne Voth.

His team at Steinbach-based Proline Pork Marketing directs young pigs — or weanlings — to the U.S. for processing and a new country-of-origin label could throw a wrench in the supply chain.

As of Jan. 1, American businesses opting to label their pork goods “Made in the USA” must use pigs bred and raised in the country. “There are still buyers that take Canadian pigs, but there’s less of them,” Voth said.

He noticed a shift in mid-2025: it usually takes a half-year for weaned pigs to go to market. Certain buyers were pushing back on Canadian-born animals in anticipation of the policy change, Voth said.

Demand is still high. Some barns in the U.S. have been plagued with diseases, such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome; Canadian pigs are being sought to fill demand.

“I think it’ll be more challenging to move Canadian pigs in spring and summer,” Voth said, adding demand generally lessens. “It’ll be a more true test.”

The policy change is the latest destabilizer for Manitoba’s pork industry. The province ships around three million live pigs to the U.S. annually, according to Manitoba Pork.

“Just given the geopolitical situation, it’s really uncertain on what things are going to look like six months from now,” said Cam Dahl, Manitoba Pork general manager.

He expects weanling prices will be affected. American customers buying Canadian pigs may have a harder time marketing the animals, leading to Canadians lowering prices, Dahl said.

The problem will be exacerbated if major retailers — such as Costco or Walmart — seek pork products with “Product of USA” labelling, Dahl added.

The labelling, however, is voluntary.

There hasn’t yet been a major call from Americans for “Product of USA” tags, said Stephen Heckbert, president of the Canadian Pork Council.

“I think you’re seeing a lot of (businesses) just waiting and seeing what kind of reaction you’ll see from consumers,” Heckbert said.

“There’s a real reluctance on the part of retailers at this moment to force consumers to pay a higher price for a product that was voluntarily labelled as ‘Made in the USA.’”

Some U.S. firms may choose to buy Canadian pigs and segregate the droves from American litters to meet labelling requirements. That comes with a cost, Dahl said.

“It’s too early to tell … what the overall impact is going to be,” he said. “It’s definitely not a positive impact.”

Pork prices at home and south of the border might dip or stabilize if country-of-origin labelling uptake is high. Farmers with older sows might not replace the animals, ultimately scaling back production, said Stuart Smyth, a University of Saskatchewan agriculture professor.

“How much (the price) decreases by will be based on how many of the American pork processing facilities will participate in this … voluntarily labelling.”

Impact could be mitigated if Canada finds new buyers outside the U.S. — a search that’s snowballed since U.S. President Donald Trump took office last year, Smyth added.

The new country-of-origin policy was created under former president Joe Biden’s administration.

Manitoba’s hog sector accounts for $2.3 billion of the province’s GDP. Most U.S.-bound weanlings from Canada come from Manitoba; roughly 3.2 million are transported from Canada annually, Heckbert said. Canada also exports live market hogs.

Dahl said he’s discussed the label policy change with provincial and federal government officials. He’s also lobbied with U.S. counterparts.

In a statement Friday, Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn said his government is working closely with Manitoba Pork, advocating in the U.S. and discussing the issue with the feds.

The policy is déjà vu for some in the industry: in 2008, the United States implemented mandatory country-of-origin labelling for red meat, including pork.

Canada and Mexico filed objections with the World Trade Organization over the change; Canada’s pork and beef industry had seen losses exceeding $1 billion. The WTO ultimately ruled in the two countries’ favour. America dropped the policy in 2015.

The new label likely “won’t have a deeper impact” than its non-voluntary predecessor, said Argenis Rodas-Gonzalez, a University of Manitoba animal science professor.

Products using Canadian pigs can still be labelled as being sliced and packaged in the U.S. using imported pork, Rodas-Gonzalez noted. Pigs were far less profitable during the 2008 policy change, Voth said.

Meantime, Canada’s pork industry continues to be hit by 25 per cent tariffs on its exports to China. It’s felt a roughly $100 million loss, Heckbert said.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com