September 8, 2011

Sanderson Farms feels financial crunch

High cost of feed corn and fuel prices but lower prices of chicken put a strong financial pressure on one of the US' largest poultry producers.

Sanderson Farms, which employs 100,000 people in Georgia, directly or indirectly, and contributes about US$13 billion to the economy each year, announced that it lost US$56 million in its most recent three-month period, despite higher sales.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Tom Hensley, president of Baldwin-based Fieldale Farms, expects that US production of chicken, now about 160 million head processed each week, with higher prices, will be trimmed to less than 150 million.