(Quebec) The Minister of Agriculture, André Lamontagne, wants a negotiated solution between pig farmers and processors, including Olymel, who have been forcing them since the spring to sell their animals at a loss. Raymond Bachand was appointed by the Régie des marchés agricole conciliator to represent buyers and breeders in order to agree on the next price formula.
“The reduction in the imposed price has shaken up your sector a lot. I am aware that it has harmed several of your farms,” the minister said in a speech at the Pork Show, which brings together the cream of the pork industry. The event took place in Quebec.
The Press revealed in November that Quebec taxpayers should provide $90 million in indirect subsidies this year to the province’s hog slaughterhouses, 80% controlled by Olymel. The company is in financial difficulty, and forces producers to sell at a loss. They then receive compensation from the farm income stabilization insurance program (ASRA) managed by La Financière agricole du Québec (FADQ) and two-thirds funded by Quebec taxpayers.
The crisis hits so hard that many breeders are thinking about closing up shop. Mr. Lamontagne, however, believes that a solution necessarily involves negotiation. “That’s the importance of the negotiation,” he stressed, adding that former Liberal minister Raymond Bachand has everyone’s confidence.
André Lamontagne wants this important sector to be profitable, and everyone must make an effort: “A chain is only as strong as the weakest link”, he recalled. The sector needs “orderly marketing”, and all the links in this chain must be “in good health”.
African swine fever
He also took the opportunity to talk about the threat – a “sword of Damocles” – of African swine fever. The minister said the government was ready, and that a plan was in place in the event of an epidemic that would force Canada to “close the markets”. From the “disposal of carcasses” of pigs to the “income security” of breeders, “everything has been prepared”, he said.
He also defended the social acceptability of large piggeries, pointing out that in Quebec, projects for 3,000 pigs are raising “red flags” and being called “mega”, while China has announced the erection of a gigantic “building” which contains “650,000 pigs”, he launched.