Pork company Canada Packers says it is passing high fuel costs on to customers

Pork chops are on display in Bentonville, Ark. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

MISSISSAUGA — Canada Packers Inc. says it is passing on higher fuel costs to its customers as oil prices have skyrocketed since the outbreak of the war in Iran.

High oil prices have made customer deliveries more expensive while the cost of fuel used on farms has also gone up, the company said.

High fuel prices have started to seep into grocery bills as the war in the Middle East enters its third month and the narrow but crucial Strait of Hormuz effectively remains shut -- blocking oil tankers from passing the waterway.

Canada Packers said there will be short-term cost impacts this quarter and next.

The Mississauga, Ont.-headquartered company reported a first-quarter profit of $43.8 million or $1.46 per diluted share, compared with $34.1 million or $1.15 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2025.

On an adjusted basis, Canada Packers says it earned 54 cents per share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of 89 cents per share a year earlier.

Sales totalled $428.3 million, down from $452 million a year earlier.

Canada Packers shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange were trading six per cent lower to $18.41 midday Thursday.

Despite ongoing global uncertainties, the company said demand for its pork has remained stable.

Canada Packers is on track to deliver its annual volume growth of two to three per cent, chief executive Dennis Organ told analysts during an earnings call on Thursday.

Canada Packers is the pork operations of Maple Leaf Foods Inc., which was spun off into a new stand-alone company in October 2025.

RBC analyst Irene Nattel said the company “delivered solid results for its second quarter as an independent, publicly traded company, with financial results generally in line with forecast.”

“Results reflect generally favourable, albeit normalizing, commodity markets,” she said in a note.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2026.

Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press