Watching world events unfold from his pig farm in southwestern Ontario this past spring, Craig
Hulshof expected a strong summer for Canadian pork producers.
The Trump administration’s tariff fight with China had made it more costly for American producers to serve the booming Asian market. Meanwhile, the spread of African swine fever in China, the world’s biggest consumer of pork, forced the culling of millions of pigs, creating an opportunity for Canadian pork to fill the void.
Instead, pork and beef producers here now find themselves shut out of China altogether, the latest victims of worsening diplomatic relations between the two countries after Canada arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in December.
“We expected that when barbecue season started up that’s when we’d make our money,” Mr Hulshof said. “China has put a fork in it.”