It's shaping up to be a year of ups and downs for Canadian pork producers.
Ron Gietz of Farm Credit Canada feels there will be periods of profitability , and other times where producers will be hard pressed to cover costs.
He notes the demand for pork from China hit record volumes in 2016, but the recent surge in pork prices have our pork looking less appealing, especially as Chinese hog producers improve on their own margins.
The pork specialist says a positive for pig farmers this year will be low grain prices.
He feels that will continue, as long as the weather cooperates this summer.
Gietz adds the wildcard will be the loonie.
If it stays low, producers will benefit from increased exports, but if the dollar climbs, hog prices here will be directly impacted negatively.
