March 18, 2014

Smithfield stops hog slaughter due to PEDv

 

 

 

Due to the spread of the deadly porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus (PEDv) which has tightened hog supplies, Smithfield Foods Inc. suspended hog slaughter at its Tar Heel, North Carolina plant, industry sources said.

 

The Tar Heel plant, the company's largest pork processing facility, reduced its slaughter schedule this week to four days from five days, the sources said. While it is not slaughtering hogs on Friday, the plant is processing meat from this week's kill, the persons said.

 

Smithfield, acquired last year by China's Shuanghui International, said it does not comment on daily operations, minor disruptions, and openings or closings of processing plants.

 

The said move follows days of market talk about US pork processors cutting back working days because of reduced supplies, a measure that reflects the growing damage caused by the virus.

 

It is not clear how long the company will adhere to the shortened slaughter schedule. Smithfield may also reduce operations at its plant in Clinton, North Carolina, the sources said.

 

The Tar Heel plant is the largest pork processing plant in the US, with an estimated slaughter capacity of 30,000 to 34,000 hogs a day. Smithfield's decision to reduce the kill schedule in response to the hog virus is expected to be repeated by other companies in the weeks ahead as US pork processors struggle to source hogs, analysts said.

 

The US, the world's largest pork exporter, slaughtered 9.74 million hogs in 2013, according to the USDA.

 

The pig virus has spread across the US Hog Belt with swine specialists estimating that at least four to five million hogs have died of PEDv since it was identified in the US in May 2013. PEDv does not affect humans and is not a food safety risk.

 

The tight supply of hogs was reflected in the US government's weekly slaughter estimates. The USDA estimated the hog slaughter at 360,000 head, down 51,000 head from a week ago. The USDA estimated hog slaughter so far this year down 3.5% from the same period a year ago.

 

Plants owned by Hormel Foods Corp, JBS Swift , and Triumph Foods are among Midwestern facilities that plan either to trim daily operations by a couple of hours, eliminate overtime or suspend Saturday slaughter, according to sources in the cash hog market.