Increased Canadian hog exports to the United States may be adding to the risk of an american launched trade action.


Manitoba Pork Marketing Co-op's Tyler Fulton says feeder pig exports have increased 13% year over year largely due to the appreciating Canadian dollar.


He adds when this happens, it tends to raise red flags from a U.S. producer perspective.


Fulton notes the single biggest criteria the national pork producers council uses to determine whether to take action is if market prices have dropped enough to show farmers have been injured.


He's cautiously optimistic that won't be the case, and feels we should be able to get through the fall of 2006 without a significant chance of a U.S. trade case being launched.


The last U.S. trade action against Canadian hogs was launched in March 2004 by the National Pork Producers Council.


Just over a year later in April 2005 the U.S. International Trade Commission sided with Canadian interests and removed the duties which were in place on live swine.