Canada Resumes Import of Pork Products from Smithfield Tar Heel, North Carolina, Plant

March 17, 2025

The suspension of shipments lasted roughly a week and was based on an issue with certain shipments of offal.

Canada has resumed importing pork products late last week from the largest pork-processing plant in the U.S., Smithfield Foods’ Tar Heel, N.C., facility, after blocking those shipments on March 7.

Smithfield published a release announcing the move, saying the “temporarily suspended imports” were due to an issue with a limited number of certain offal shipments. The company thanked Canada and USDA officials for working to reopen the trade.

Smithfield CEO Shane Smith said the suspension was unrelated to tariffs, according to a news report on the reopening. Canada imports the fifth-highest amount of pork from the U.S. among all nations, according to USDA data cited by Reuters.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.