(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Brandon pork plant’s exports to China suspended

Chinese protocols call for temporary pause, Maple Leaf says

New Chinese rules for exporters and a number of COVID-19 cases among its workers have led Maple Leaf Foods to temporarily halt pork traffic to China from its biggest hog plant. The company said Tuesday it has “temporarily suspended pork exports to China on a voluntary basis due to recent protocols adopted by the Chinese […] Read more

(Olymel video screengrab via YouTube)

Red Deer hog plant books first COVID case

One employee confirmed with virus, 13 isolating as precaution, company says

A major Prairie hog slaughter and processing plant relatively untouched by the COVID-19 pandemic has marked its first case of the coronavirus in a production line worker. Olymel, the meat packing arm of Quebec ag co-operative Sollio, said an employee who reported for work Monday last week at its Red Deer, Alta. plant began showing […] Read more


(JBSFoodCanada.ca)

JBS to resume U.S. share listing plan after COVID-19 fallout

Management looking also for US$100 million in cost cuts

Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil’s JBS SA is reviving plans to list shares on Wall Street after dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic’s fallout, CEO Gilberto Tomazoni said on Friday, as the world’s largest meatpacker reported strong quarterly results. Speaking on a conference call with analysts following the company’s second-quarter results, Tomazoni said the focus […] Read more

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Union seeks temporary halt for major Manitoba hog plant

Four Maple Leaf plant staff now COVID-positive

The union for about 2,000 workers at Maple Leaf Foods’ main Canadian hog slaughter and packing plant is calling for the company to put the brakes on production, pending further tests for COVID-19 among employees. United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 832 said Thursday it was “made aware” late Wednesday night of three more […] Read more



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures close higher on strong export data

Chicago | Reuters – U.S. live cattle futures closed higher on Thursday for a third straight day, buoyed by strong weekly beef export sales and signs of firming cash cattle prices, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) August live cattle futures settled up 0.275 cent at 101.725 cents per pound while most-active October rose 0.700 […] Read more



Piglets look out from a fence at Cabanas Argentinas del Sol pig farm in Marcos Paz, southwest of Buenos Aires in December 2008.  Photo: Reuters/Enrique Marcarian

Argentina nears China hog deal it hopes could turbocharge local pork production

Buenos Aires | Beijing | Reuters – Argentina is nearing an initial agreement with China that could pave for the way for potential investments by the Asian giant in local pork production for export, Argentina’s undersecretary of trade and investment promotion told Reuters. That could eventually lead to Chinese-backed hog farms in the South American […] Read more



Photo: File

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures retreat on supply concerns

Chicago | Reuters – U.S. live cattle futures opened firm on Monday but retreated from session highs on technical selling and lingering concerns about cattle supply backups in the wake of recent packing plant closures due to coronavirus infections among workers. Prices climbed at Monday’s open in reaction to Friday’s U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cattle on […] Read more