Canadian Hog Statistics

Reports » Canadian Hog Statistics » Canadian Hog Statistics - First Quarter 2012

02 May 2012

Canadian Hog Statistics - First Quarter 2012

Canadian hog producers held an estimated 12.0 million hogs on April 1, 2012, up 1.8% from the same date in 2011.

Highlights

Canadian hog producers held an estimated 12.0 million hogs on April 1, 2012, up 1.8% from the same date in 2011.
The number of sows on Canadian farms remained virtually unchanged from April 1, 2011 at 1.3 million. Hog producers intend to have 693,600 sows farrowed during the second quarter of 2012, up 2.3% from the number of sows farrowed during the same period in 2011.
About 1.4 million head of live hogs were exported during the first quarter of 2012, a decrease of 0.9% compared to the same period a year earlier.
In the first quarter of 2012, 5.4 million hogs were sent to pork packing plants in Canada, a decline of 0.1% from the same period a year earlier.

Analysis

Hog Inventories

Canadian hog producers held an estimated 12.0 million hogs on April 1, 2012, up 1.8% from the same date in 2011. Total hog inventories for the period have increased for a second consecutive year. April hog inventories were higher by 1.5% in 2011 following four consecutive declines since the peak reached in 2006.

Hog Inventories

The number of sows on Canadian farms remained virtually unchanged from April 1, 2011 at 1.3 million. Sows inventory began to decline from 1.6 million head recorded on April 1, 2005. In 2010, the rate of decline became moderate and the breeding herd began to stabilise.

Sows Inventory at April 1, 2002 to 2012

The 2012 first quarter pig crop increased 0.9% from the same period of 2011 to 7.3 million head. Sows farrowings during this period totalled 709,100 head, up 0.2% from 2011. Canadian hog producers intend to have 693,600 sows farrowed during the second quarter of 2012, up 2.3% from the number of sows farrowed during the same period in 2011.

In the first quarter of 2012, 5.4 million hogs were sent to pork packing plants in Canada, a decline of 0.1% from the same period a year earlier. Slaughter in the Eastern provinces decreased by 1.7%, while that in the Western provinces increased by 2.3%.

About 1.4 million head of live hogs were exported during the first quarter of 2012, a decrease of 0.9% compared to the same period a year earlier. First quarter exports in 2012 were 50.6% below the exports in the corresponding quarter of 2008 before the introduction of the Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) regulations in the United States in the fall of 2008.