Proposed New Levy on Imports of Pork and Pork Products

The Government of Canada proposes to start charging a levy per hog or calculated on the pork content on interprovincial trade, exports and imports of pork and pork products to help fund research and promotion activities. The levy imposed will be for business industry engaged in the marketing of hogs in interprovincial or export trade and the importation of hogs or pork products into Canada.

The proposal was announced and published in Canada Gazette Part I, Vol 154, no.10 March 7, 2020. The import levy would be based per hog and would be applied to all pork products based on a formula that converts the per hog levy to a pork-based levy.

The amount of the levy to pay is on the calculation of the pork content in multi-ingredient food, the levy coefficient charge is based on weight. The collection of the levy fee is proposed to be implemented in 2021 once the levy order is published in the Canada Gazette and provides the effective date.  

The federal government established the Canadian Pork Promotion and Research Agency to manage the levy and help co-ordinate research and promotion activities. The creation of the Canadian Pork Promotion and Research Agency provides an effective tool to contribute to the Canadian government’s priorities, by fostering economic growth in the agri-food industries through support for agricultural science research, innovation, and promotion. The Canadian Pork Promotion and Research Agency will help organize producers and industry to fund activities to equip them to face the challenges of competing in domestic and international markets.

The Canadian Pork Promotion and Research Agency (PRA) was created under the Farm Products Agencies Act. The Canadian Pork Promotion-Research Agency Proclamation is published in Canada Gazette SOR/2020-282.

The pork industry sees further opportunity in Canada’s domestic market as well as in overseas markets such as Europe, following ratification of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA); Asia Pacific, through the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which includes Japan; and China, over the next few years.

For information about next steps, please contact the FPCC at fpcc-cpac@canada.ca.

Visit the Pork Promotion and Research Agency website here: