The Pork Promotion and Research Agency, a federal entity established in November, has now selected the 12 members who will represent Canadian pork producers, importers, retailers and the restaurant sector.
The group’s first meeting, held March 15, identified the following slate of personnel:
- Terry Beck, Pork Nova Scotia
- Rick Bergmann, Manitoba Pork Council
- Olivier Bourbeau, Restaurants Canada
- Maaike Campbell, Ontario Pork
- Scott Dingwell, PEI Hog Commodity Marketing Board
- Mark Ferguson, Saskatchewan Pork
- Darcy Fitzgerald, Alberta Pork
- Hans Kristensen, Pork New Brunswick
- Pierre Massie, Les Éleveurs de porcs du Québec
- Tyler McNaughton, BC Hog Marketing Commission
- Pat Pessotto, Longo’s
- Troy Warren, Sure Good Foods
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The agency has the mandate of “supporting the competitiveness and sustainability of the pork sector by enabling the development and implementation of promotional and research activities.”
It is also expected to help the pork industry capitalize on market opportunities created in international trade deals and help mitigate and manage the risks of African swine fever by investing in research.
In the initial announcement about the agency, the government said it would be funded by a national levy system to be collected on imported pork products. That is similar to the levy collected by the Canadian Beef Check-Off Agency on imported cattle and beef.
The initial proposal suggested by the Canadian Pork Council is to collect a 75-cent levy on imported live pigs and an additional charge on imported pork, both of which would generate an estimated $2 million annually.
In 2020, Canada imported $1.35 billion worth of pork, according to agency figures.
