The closure of the Olymel slaughterhouse in Vallée-Jonction, in Chaudière-Appalaches, is another blow that the pork industry must absorb.
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• Read also: Olymel will close its Vallée-Jonction plant
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For the producer of Danville, Stéphane Roy, it is above all the insecurity created by this closure that worries him. “Are we staying stationary, can we expand, we don’t really know where we’re going, we’re treading water and waiting to see what’s going to happen.”
According to the president of the Éleveurs de porcs de l’Estrie, Sébastien Pagé, it is the succession of problems that led to today’s situation, from the suspension of slaughterhouses during COVID, to the shortage of labor of labor and the increase in several costs linked to inflation. To weather this new storm, Mr. Pagé believes that Quebec will have to open its wallet and support Quebec pork producers.
Estrie has just over 200 producers representing economic spinoffs of just under $100 million for the region.
Beginning in May, pork producers in the province will have the opportunity to participate in a buy-back program. The goal is to remove 1 million pigs from the production line. Several breeders are in reflection, it will be necessary to wait until later this summer to find out which producers agree to put their operations on hold for at least five years.