OTTAWA, Ont. — If you truck pigs for a living, be advised Canadian hog inventories declined marginally during the first quarter, despite the strong export demand and favorable prices in 2001.

Statistics Canada reports hog markets became increasingly bearish in the first quarter of 2002.

Producers reported 13.2 million head on their farms as of Apr. 1, which was 0.1 per cent below Jan. 1, but 4.1 per cent higher than on Apr. 1, 2001.

Western Canadian farmers were responsible for the entire expansion, even though there are more hogs in the east. Inventories in the west climbed 11 per cent over the past year to a record 5.8 million hogs.

Manitoba alone was responsible for an additional 329,000 hogs, a 16 per cent increase, as producers responded to demand on both sides of the border.

This data is from the April Hog Survey, a telephone survey of 2,500 hog producers, who were asked to report the number of hogs they had on their farm as of Apr. 1.