Manitoba Pork Council Chair George Matheson says they would like to see an increase in market hogs to make sure the processors in the province are kept full.

He made the comment Wednesday at the group's Annual General Meeting in Winnipeg.

With the moratorium now lifted, Matheson says they will start to see a new barns constructed over the next year.

"We're positive that we'll have a few built this year, maybe five to six," he said. "We discovered that having estimates done last year that construction of new barns is very expensive now. We hope that if a person can amortized it over a number of years that it will prove to be affordable."

He notes there is a positive mood in the pork industry right now, with the repeal of COOL along with the signing of the CETA and TPP agreements. The threat of the PED virus has also subsided in Manitoba.

Matheson was re-elected as chair and will stay on for another year.