Canadian consumers want to eat Canadian pork but producer organizations need to forget futile local campaigns if they want to get more of the consumer loonie, says a leader of a national pork promotion organization.
“The truth is that provincial marketing efforts are floundering and don’t work,” said Curtiss Littlejohn, an Ontario farmer, about Pork Marketing Canada’s effort to replace imported pork in Canadian stores.
“They are feel-good campaigns … for producers. They make you feel good because you see your product being promoted in your market, in your local arena, in your local grocery store.
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“The truth of the matter is that we need the Canadian consumer to recognize a Canadian product, and if they don’t see a Canadian product, (they will) go down to the butcher, ring the bell and say: ‘Where is the Canadian product?’”
Canada is a giant world exporter of pork but it also imports much pork from the United States.
The various pork cuts imported into Canada each week equal about 40,000 pigs, which is the production of a typical full-size hog slaughter plant.
That’s a big loss of sales to Canadian producers, Littlejohn said.
Pork Marketing Canada, a new agency formed to push domestic Canadian pork sales, wants all gro-cers to be selling Canadian pork and advertising a Canada brand on the meat.
Many producers have been furious at Costco because its fresh pork generally comes from the United States but Littlejohn said that’s about to change.
“That’s been four years in the works,” said Littlejohn.
He said the local food movement is good for the potential of Canadian pork sales but producers might have to expand their definition of local.
National chains like Sobey’s, Loblaws/Superstore, Wal-Mart and Costco see “Canadian as a local brand, so that’s why producers need to support the national branding campaign,” Littlejohn said.
“They are all looking at a Canadian branded product.”
