Shareholders of Moose Jaw Pork Packers have voted in favour of leasing the slaughter and processing plant to a Taiwanese company.
The plant has been closed for more than a year and was open for only three months before that after a previous revival attempt.
One shareholder, who asked not to be identified, said he voted in favour of the deal but he isn’t so sure things will work out this time either.
“I don’t really think that it’ll get off the ground,” he said. “Not too many producers will trust that plant again.”
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His main concern is that producers are locked into long-term supply contracts of five or six years and won’t be able to supply Moose Jaw.
If the new operators intend to slaughter sows for the wiener market, it might work, he added.
Several groups of shareholders, including employees, producers, creditors and private investors, had to approve the leasing arrangement for it to proceed.
The agreement calls for an eight-year lease and an option to sell at any point. Lease payments will pay off the creditors.
This is the fourth offer to come in since the plant closed in September 2006. Some shareholders opposed the previous three. All have to agree for a deal to proceed.
The news came during the same week that another group announced it would proceed with a plan to build a hog plant in Saskatoon.
That will also be a factor in future success of the Moose Jaw operation.
Before the Moose Jaw plant can reopen, it would have to be reinspected and certified by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. That will take at least 90 days.
