The marketing division of Ontario Pork has put up money to offer partial reimbursement to hog farmers left unpaid in the wake of Quality Meat Packers’ bankruptcy.
The offer, to be funded through the division’s accumulated surplus, applies to farmers who shipped hogs to Quality through the division between March 31 and April 3.
The Toronto pork slaughter and processing operation and its Toronto Abattoirs arm sought creditor protection in early April, hoping to restructure and resume operating within three weeks, but were deemed bankrupt on May 6. [Related story]
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“I’m pleased to be able to offer meaningful support to producers who use our services,” Ontario Pork marketing division manager Patrick O’Neil said in a release Thursday. “Due to our surplus we were able to offer our members some relief during these circumstances.”
The division, which since 2010 has been an optional intermediary marketer for the province’s hog farmers, said it will “continue to monitor the situation and work to maintain the orderly flow of hogs through its processing channels.”
Payments to producers from the division are “not guaranteed” in cases such as this, Ontario Pork noted, but the division “has practices in place that help to minimize the risk to producers of non-payment in the event of a default.”
Quality’s appointed receiver, A. Farber and Partners, previously estimated that as of April 3, Quality and Toronto Abattoirs together owed hog producers about $8.67 million.
Farber has now scheduled its first meeting of the two companies’ creditors for 10 a.m. on June 5 at Toronto’s Sheraton Centre.
The companies’ creditors and employees are expected to receive their formal notice to creditors by mail by Friday (May 16). — AGCanada.com Network
