The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that some pork producers in Quebec are being offered money to close up shop as part of a strategy to cut annual production by one million hogs. The Globe's Kate Helmore writes that the temporary measure is set to be approved by Quebec's agricultural and food markets board soon. It will cost about $80-million, an expense that will be borne by both producers and Quebec taxpayers. Advocates say the move is necessary to align the supply of pork with the province's declining processing capacity. "We are in a crisis," said Louis-Philippe Roy, president of Les Eleveurs de porcs du Quebec, the union that sells all pork produced in Quebec. In April, Canada's largest pork processor, Olymel, said it was closing its plant in Vallee-Jonction, Que. The shutdowns are part of a strategy to cut its production from 140,000 hogs a week to 80,000. Quebec is Canada's largest producer and processor of pork, responsible for 31 per cent of the country's output. Across Canada, the sector exports 70 per cent of what it produces. Canada's major pork export markets are in Asia. Pork prices have dropped 15 per cent in the past year, while production costs and interest rates have climbed.