The City of Moose Jaw is becoming a major meat processing hub.
The newest meat processing plant on the Prairies has officially opened in Moose Jaw. The West Coast-based Leung family, which owns Donald’s Fine Foods, has increased its commitment to the Band City by repurposing the old XL Beef plant into a pork processing facility.
The plant – to operate under the label North 49 Foods – is the company’s second Moose Jaw facility. Its other is Thunder Creek Pork, which employs nearly 300 workers. The new plant will expand the company’s Moose Jaw workforce to nearly 500.
Donald’s and its subsidiaries represent an emerging segment of the pork processing industry in the country. For the past decade, the business has been dominated by a couple major players, which are integrated from the farm to the grocery store with primary production all the way through to final packaging.
Donald’s has relied on producers who have remained independent to supply their stock, specializing in killing and processing cuts for export markets or delivery to western Canadian grocery stores.
