The federal government has earmarked more than $567 million to aid domestic pork producers in the event of an outbreak of African Swine Fever.
A statement Friday said the money will go toward supporting hog producers should there be a closure of key export markets for Canadian pork products and live pigs due to an ASF outbreak in either Canada or the US.
While Canada remains free of ASF, a single detection of the disease in Canada would close export markets due to international trade regulations and import restrictions imposed by trading partners, the statement said. Canada is heavily dependent on pork and live pig exports, and the closure of key export markets would be devastating to the pork sector. It would also cause hog producers to incur extraordinary costs and force them to make difficult decisions about depopulating their herds, it added.
“With this funding commitment, we’re making sure we support hog producers in the event of an outbreak, while we work to contain the virus quickly and regain access to our key export markets,” said Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay.
The overall commitment may increase from the current level to eventually reflect 60:40 cost-shared funding with provincial and territorial partners, Ottawa said.
The Canadian pork industry exports roughly two-thirds of its pork production and millions of live pigs per year. In 2024, Canada exported about 1.4 million tonnes of pork products and over 6.8 million live pigs.
African swine fever (ASF) is a viral disease that affects pigs and wild boar. It's highly contagious and can cause high mortality rates. ASF is not harmful to humans, but it can cause significant economic losses. An ASF outbreak caused a substantial decrease in China's pig herd, leading to a significant drop in domestic pork production, estimated to be about 28 million tonnes, between late 2018 and early 2021.
