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last update:6 Aug 2012
High feed prices reduce profit Smithfield
Even though pork prices have been relatively high, Smithfield Foods Inc. did
loose in its first quarter, as a result of the high feed prices and production
costs.
Smithfield said it lost $12.6 million, or 9 cents a
share, in the first quarter, hurt by hedging losses on feed-grain and live pig
contracts and asset disposals from a joint venture in Spain. A year ago, the
pork producer earned $54.6 million, or 41 cents a share.
Feed
prices
Smithfield said it paid 39% more for corn and 33% more for soybean
meal in the quarter compared with last year, making it more expensive to raise
pigs. For the company's operations in Europe, it's even more expensive. Cash
raising costs are $90 per hundredweight, making it harder to pass along those
costs to consumers.
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Smithfield Foods Inc.
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