Here is a short summary from Ag-Canada. It confirms Paul's statement about beef-packing concentration in Alberta. Cheers, Ken Hanly Structure The Canadian meat packing/processing sector consists of red meat products and by-products. Beef, pork and processed meats account for 94% of revenues, with other meats (lamb, veal, horsemeat and game meats), hides, offals, fats and other saleable by-products making up the remaining 6%. According to Statistics Canada's 1994 Standard Commodity Classification of Revenue, beef and pork accounted for 42% and 23% of sales respectively. Processed meats represented 29% of sales, with a 60:40 pork:beef ratio. In 1996, the value of shipments for the red meat sector was $10.1 billion. Value-added in the industry was about $2.2 billion. Red meat is the largest employer in the food industry, employing more than 33,000 people in 457 plants in 1995. Within the context of the Canadian food and beverage processing sector, the red meat industry accounted for 19% of total shipments in 1995, down from 22% in 1988. Meanwhile, share of establishments (17%), value-added (12%) and employment (20%) have remained virtually unchanged. In other words, meat establishments in general are larger in terms of sales and more labor intensive but provide proportionally less value-added per dollar of sales than the "average" food and beverage sector plant. The meat sector exported 24% of its production in 1996. This is well above the Canadian food and beverage sector average of 16%. In 1996, exports of $2.45 billion and imports of $1.1 billion resulted in a positive trade balance in meat of $1.35 billion. In 1996, 2.9 million cattle and 14.9 million hogs were slaughtered in federally-inspected plants. Although the industry is national in scope, meat processing is heavily concentrated regionally. In 1996, 61% of hogs were processed in Ontario and Quebec, while the western provinces accounted for 36%. Alberta dominated the beef industry in 1996, accounting for 62% of the Canadian cattle slaughter, followed by Ontario at 20%. The market share among small (less than 20 employees), medium (20-200 employees) and large (200+ employees) establishments changed significantly between 1988 and 1994 with the share of large establishments increasing from 46% to 60%, while medium and small establishments declined from 49% to 37% and 5% to 3%, respectively. The share of very large establishments (more than 500 employees) increased from 25% to 40% during the same period. The total number of establishments declined from 536 in 1988 to 454 in 1994 and 462 in 1996. This decline occurred mainly within the small category which, in 1994, represented 50% of total establishments, down from 60% in 1988. In 1996, about 50 federally-inspected packing plants were engaged in the slaughter of hogs, while 25 were primarily involved in beef. In the pork sector, the top seven companies (consisting of 12 plants) represented 73% of the total Canadian hog slaughter. Five of these plants are located in Quebec, three in Ontario, two in Alberta and one each in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. On the other hand, the beef sector is much more concentrated, with the top four plants accounting for 75% of the total Canadian cattle slaughter. Canada's two largest plants, both in Alberta, are American based. Up to 65% of pork and 25% of beef wholesale cuts are sold by Canadian packers to about 380 Canadian meat processors who produce a vast array of value-added, cured or cooked products, including bacon, ham, sausages, delicatessen specialties and p�t�s. Although the majority of these plants are small, processed meats provide the industry with the opportunity to add significant value and to be innovative in product development and marketing.
