The Impact of Canadian Pork Imports on New South Wales Pigmeat Prices

In September 1989 the Australian Government announced an inprinciple decision to lift the existing ban on importation of unprocessed pigmeat, specifically for Canadian product, and imports from Canada began arriving in August 1990 (DPIE media release 1990). While import volumes have fluctuated markedly, there have been periods of substantial quantities coming into Australia, and the increases in imports have coincided with a decline in farm prices for pigs, such as in early 1992 and in early 1995. In this paper the casual relationships between imports and domestic prices are investigated using Granger causality models. The results suggest that import volumes have no consistent impact on farm, wholesale or retail pigmeat prices in NSW