Hog plant needed $9M: report

The regional hog processing plant in Charlottetown would have needed a further $9 million in investment by this summer, suggests a confidential report obtained by CBC News.

The Natural Organic Food Group hog plant went into receivership last month when the provincial government called a $1.5-million loan.

Before the province pulled the plug on the NOFG plant, it hired an accounting firm to analyze the plant's financial position. PricewaterhouseCoopers presented its findings to cabinet in December, and a few days later Premier Robert Ghiz told Islanders he would no longer support the plant.

A draft copy of that report suggests the company could have started to become consistently profitable later this year, but to become successful in the niche market of omega-3 and organic hog products the plant would have needed a major infusion of funds.

PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated the company would need another $9 million to make a go in the market, but couldn't guarantee success, citing several outside factors that could jeopardize the hog plant's projections.

Sprinkled throughout the report were comments such as, "very challenging to accomplish" and "substantial difficulty."

NOFG management believed with the needed support it could go from being consistently in the red to recording nearly a $4-million profit within three years.

Three weeks after reading the final version of the report, the government called its loan.

It's not clear in what ways the final report read by cabinet varied, if at all, from the draft report obtained by CBC News.

The plant, now owned by the provincial government, is being operated by a receiver. The province has said it is not interested in running the plant in the long term and is seeking a buyer. Closing the plant would have regional implications. Most Maritime hogs are processed at the Charlottetown plant, along with hundreds a week from Quebec.