Chapter 4: Processing and Further Processing

• 4.1 Processing
  
  • 4.1.1 Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council (CPEPC)
  • 4.1.2 Turkey processing firms
  • 4.1.3 Poultry co-operatives
    
• 4.2 Further Processing
  
  • 4.2.1 Further Poultry Processors Association of Canada (FPPAC)
  • 4.2.2 Further Processing Plants
    

4.1 Processing

4.1.1 Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council (CPEPC)

The CPEPC is the national association serving hatcheries, chicken and turkey processing plants, egg grading stations and processed egg plants in Canada . The Council's mandate is to identify and represent the collective goals and interests of the processing industry, develop action plans, and conduct activities that will best achieve these goals.

The CPEPC has a further poultry processing subsector that represents chicken and turkey plants that process the product beyond the primary cutting level. In essence, they add further value to the product beyond primary processing of the product. This subsector has reported over $300 million in plant and equipment investment, and employs more than 3,500 people. It is supplied by primary processors and transforms raw chicken meat into a variety of innovative foods for the retail and foodservices markets.

4.1.2 Turkey processing firms

As of October 2004, Canada has 131 primary turkey processing plants that process turkey (22 federally registered and 109 provincially registered).

The five largest firms in the turkey sector are, in order: Coopérative fédérée de Québec (Unidindon in Quebec), Lilydale Poultry Cooperative (one plant in British Columbia , one in Alberta and one in Saskatchewan ), Thames Valley Processors, East Huron Poultry and P&H Foods. These five firms process 86% of the turkeys slaughtered in Canada .

The following table lists these processing plants by province and by their registration affiliation. You will notice that Alberta has 71 provincially registered plants while the next province ( Ontario ) has 27. This can be explained by the 68 Hutterite communities that are provincially registered in Alberta to slaughter their own birds.

4.1.3 Poultry co-operatives²

According to the most recent data available from the Co-operatives Secretariat, there were five poultry co-operatives among Canada’s 50 largest non-financial co-operatives in 2003.³

• La Coopérative fédérée de Québec (Quebec) ranked second, with revenues of $2,753,753,000.
• Lilydale Co-operative Ltd (Alberta) ranked eighth, with revenues of $508,681,100.
• Exceldor coopérative avicole (Quebec) ranked 14^th, with revenues of $230,270,820.
• A.C.A. Co-operative Limited (Nova Scotia) ranked 27^th, with revenues of $98,028,000.
• Granny’s Poultry Co-operative (Manitoba) ranked 30^th, with revenues of $94,983,550.

4.2 Further Processing

4.2.1 Further Poultry Processors Association of Canada (FPPAC)

http://www3.sympatico.ca/fppac

The FPPAC is a trade association where manufacturers of value-added poultry products have the opportunity to share visions and concerns. The association was founded by three independent further processors in August of 1985. The common cause that brought members together then was the concern about adequate supply of raw material and this today remains a key issue. Members are engaged in adding value to chicken, turkey, and fowl meat by way of sizing, marinating, breading, cooking, forming and adding other ingredients to make ready-to-eat or cooked products and meals.

Currently, the association is made up of 38 active further processors (and 9 associate/supplier members) from across Canada . The bulk of the membership is based in Ontario where well over half of Canada 's further processing capacity is located. FPPAC members account for sales of about 1 billion made up of both retail and foodservice products and employ over 3,100 full-time positions. Members are also active in export markets such as the U.S. , Russia , Cuba and South Africa .

4.2.2 Further Processing Plants

As of October 2004, there were 371 federally registered further processing plants for poultry meat in Canada . These plants are engaged in canning, boning, cutting of poultry into parts, and similar operations. It should be noted that many processing plants also engage in further processing operations. As well, a large number engage in more than one type of further processing operation.

2. It should be noted that the sales figures given here do not correspond to the income the co-operatives derive from their poultry operations alone.
3. http://www.agr.gc.ca/policy/coop

Important Notices

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