It will still be a few weeks before it’s known if the federal Competition Bureau will allow XL Foods to buy Tyson’s Lakeside beef slaughter plant in Brooks, Alta.
Pamela Wong, the bureau’s media spokesperson, said the investigation is still ongoing into the sale of the plant, feed yard and fertilizer assets.
“We’re in the completion stage,” said Wong, who added it would likely be weeks rather than months before a decision is made.
It’s been nine months since Tyson Foods signed a letter of intent to sell its southern Alberta packing plant and assets to Alberta-based XL Foods, which would make XL one of the largest beef packers in Canada.
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When combined with XL’s existing Calgary packing plant, the Lakeside plant will give the company the capacity to slaughter 6,500 head a day.
Rick Paskal, a southern Alberta feedlot operator, said the Competition Bureau is affecting the cattle industry by taking too long to make its decision.
“This thing has drawn on far too long. This deal needs to happen so our industry can move forward.”
The Lakeside plant shut down for a “dark day” on Feb. 4, which Paskal said reflects how much the market and beef demand has changed since the sale was first announced.
He said he worries that banks’ appetites for lending money for a packing plant may evaporate if a decision isn’t made soon.
“It scares me,” said Paskal, who also worries Tyson may permanently close Lakeside if the deal falls through and rely instead on its plant in Washington state to buy Canadian cattle.
“Our industry cannot afford not to have that plant. Let’s have a decision.”
