The latest Grocery Trade Report tells the story of more sales to the U.S., Canadians choosing to cook at home, and a (perhaps surprisingly) small shift to online food sales. Kevin Grier, with KG Market Analysis and Consulting, says that 2017 was a pretty strong year for the grocery industry in Canada. Of note, packaged… Read More
One of the five publications market analyst and consultant Kevin Grier Market offers is an in-depth look at the Canadian grocery trade. “StatsCan publishes financial data every quarter,” explains Grier in the following interview, “and I get them to peel away the food retail data…and once again the gross retail margins are looking very good… Read More
For quite some time the pork industry was less than an ideal place to be. More barns closed than opened as demand waned and environmental regulations increased. It is a different time on the pork industry in 2017. Similar to beef, demand has been very strong, which has prices pushed higher and producers making money…. Read More
On Friday the USDA released its Cattle on Feed report which provided some clarity on the placement number heading into the fall run. Anne Wasko had the following commentary – “Aug 1 U.S. Cattle on Feed Report was called neutral from guesstimates we talked about in Friday’s Beef Market Update. I was actually expecting the… Read More
Food prices in Canadian stores have declined for nine consecutive months, dating back to last September, as measured by Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index. While the rate of depreciation has slowed since January, Kevin Grier, market analyst and author of the Grocery Trade Review, explains there are two main factors putting downward pressure on the… Read More
If you asked consumers about whether grocery bills are going up or down, they would likely say up. According to market analyst Kevin Grier and Statistics Canada, the data suggests otherwise. Food deflation continued again in March, with declines across the store in staples, meat, and consumer packaged goods. According to Statistics Canada, the Consumer Price… Read More
Trade between the NAFTA nations has become mainstream news on a daily basis. Trade relations between Canada and the United States seems to be getting cooler as the battle over lumber, energy, and dairy heats up. The Canadian and American agriculture economies are very linked and, as highlighted by Kevin Grier in his March edition of… Read More
Everybody’s waiting to see what President Trump plans to do with NAFTA, but it’s unlikely it will be detrimental to the movement of cattle and pigs across the Canada-U.S. border, says Guelph-based livestock and meat market analyst Kevin Grier. While Trump’s “Buy American” policy and willingness to flat-out talk about being protectionist are concerning, Grier says he… Read More
Live cattle cash prices have been in the 2016-version of free fall, and many producers have been challenged trying to understand why prices at the grocery stores have not followed suit. As demand concerns rise, speculation is that beef prices in Canada must eventually fall to increase sales at the meat counter. In this week’s… Read More
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack declared on Friday afternoon that “effective immediately” the U.S. Department of Agriculture would not be enforcing country of origin labeling rules for beef and pork. It’s been over seven years since American packers were forced to segregate Canadian animals and meat. How quickly can they go back to operating how they… Read More
Canada’s pork sector is welcoming the conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, specifically the market access the trade deal would provide into Japan. “While we look forward to seeing additional details in texts that become available in coming days, based on what was announced, the CPC strongly supports Canada participating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” said Canadian… Read More
The Canadian Pork Council has published a study outlining not only what Canadian hog producers stand to gain from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but more significantly, what the Canadian hog sector would lose if Canada isn’t part of the multi-lateral trade deal. While the TPP negotiations currently include 12 countries, for Canadian hog producers, the deal… Read More
Remember last year, when hog prices spiked and concerns about high bacon prices hit headlines in the mainstream news? For pig producers and processors, those days are distant history, as the North American pork market has since undergone a major reversal. Not wanting to expose consumers to volatility, grocery stores generally lag behind the hog market in moving prices higher (and… Read More
With record prices and strong profits over the last year, are we on the verge of seeing renewed excitement about pig production in Canada? The previous decade was filled with challenges, but with pork prices where they’ve been over the last year, there should be some incentive to build new barns, or at least fill… Read More
The Canadian hog market is definitely an example of an up and down cycle of financial losses, frustration, PED and financial wins. Some would say its comparable to a roller coaster full of pain and exuberance. I spoke with Kevin Grier, George Morris Center to discuss what is happening in the Canadian hog market and… Read More