July 13, 2009
US pork production seen down as major processors shut down plants
About 10 percent of US pork production will be shut down on Monday (July 13) as two meat companies close pork plants for the day due to poor margins and tight supplies of hogs, livestock sources said on Friday (July 10).
According to reports, two Smithfield Foods Inc plants, one each in Sioux City, Iowa, and in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, will be shut on Monday, as will Tyson Foods Inc's plant in Columbus Junction, Iowa.
Tyson confirmed that its Columbus Junction plant will be closed and that some of its other pork plants will run at reduced levels next week.
Industry estimates showed that the three plants have a combined daily hog slaughter capacity of about 43,000 head, or about ten percent of the US total slaughter capacity.
Analysts and livestock dealers said pork plants have been hurt by tight supplies of hogs and by slow pork sales.
Hog supplies are normally tight in the summer and this year producers have been shrinking herds in reaction to more than a year of losses.
Agricultural economist Ron Plain said due to the global economic crisis pork exports are doing very poorly, adding that the demand for high quality foods is also going low.
Plain said sales of higher-priced and more profitable meats, such as beef steaks and pork loins, have been slow.
