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☆ China's big pig breeders dig in as losses and debts mount
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Dominique Patton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

BEIJING, Dec 4 (Reuters) - The biggest pig breeders in China, consumer of fully half the world's pork, seem to have bitten off more than they can chew. More huge losses are expected next year, putting China's pig enterprises under pressure to slim down their breeding herds and sell off farms, many of which are sitting empty. But now, especially given the companies' high debt levels, the analyst said: "It's hard for them to borrow any money from the banks." That follows a 17% surge in the first nine months of this year at China's 15 big market-listed breeders even as they reported 200 billion yuan in combined net losses. China's agriculture ministry has warned of heavier losses for the sector in early 2024 than a year ago and urged pig producers to cut output.

Persons: Lyle Jones, Hope Liuhe, they're, Flora Zhu, Dominique Patton, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Inc, Dalian Commodity Exchange, Tech - Bank, Jiangxi Zhengbang Technology, Analysts, Muyuan Foods, Foodstuff, WH, HK, Smithfield Foods, Hua'an Securities, China Corporate Research, Fitch, Beijing, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Fujian Aonong, Jiangxi, Beijing

Smithfield supplies hams and other fresh pork products to grocers. Photo: jim lo scalzo/EPA/ShutterstockThe Chinese parent of pork giant Smithfield Foods is working with banks to take the 87-year-old business public again in the U.S.Smithfield, the largest U.S. pork producer, could list its shares as early as next year, according to people familiar with the matter. Deliberations are ongoing and the timing could change, the people said.

Persons: jim lo scalzo Locations: Smithfield, U.S

☆ Chinese-owned pork producer Smithfield prepares for US listing -WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A painted pig stands on the lawn of Smithfield Foods executive offices in Smithfield, Virginia May 30, 2013. REUTERS/Rich-Joseph Facun/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 18 (Reuters) - Smithfield Foods' Chinese owner WH Group (0288.HK) is working with banks to take the U.S.-based pork producer public again in the United States, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Smithfield could list its shares as early as next year, the WSJ reported, adding the deliberations are ongoing and the timing could change. Smithfield and WH Group did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. WH Group bought Smithfield in 2013 in a $4.7-billion deal aimed at tapping the massive supplies of U.S. meat for export to China.

Persons: Joseph Facun, Rishabh, Savio D'Souza Organizations: Smithfield Foods, REUTERS, WH, Wall Street, WSJ, WH Group, Missouri Worker, Thomson Locations: Smithfield , Virginia, HK, U.S, United States, Smithfield, China . Virginia, Missouri, Bengaluru

[1/3] The word "justice" is seen engraved at the headquarters of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 10, 2021. "Agri Stats operates its information exchanges to promote total industry profits at the expense of competition," said the DOJ's complaint. Attorney Justin Bernick of law firm Hogan Lovells, which is representing Agri Stats in the DOJ case, said the company denies the allegations. "Agri Stats provides vital benchmarking services that help keep production costs and prices low for consumers," Bernick said in an email. Tyson did not respond to questions about whether the company uses Agri Stats reports or provide comment on the lawsuit.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Justin Bernick, Hogan Lovells, Bernick, Tyson, Leah Douglas, Barbara Lewis, Leslie Adler Organizations: United States Department of Justice, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, U.S . Department of Justice, Agri, Smithfield Foods, Tyson Foods, DOJ, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, U.S

☆ Is China really buying up U.S. farmland? Here’s what we found
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Laura Strickler | Nicole Moeder | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In fact, the total amount of U.S. agricultural land owned by Chinese interests is less than three-hundredths of 1%. NBC News was able to review filings on foreign purchases and leases of agricultural land, meaning both farm and forestry land, from 35 states since Jan. 1, 2022. The vast majority of the transactions were European wind power companies leasing land from U.S. farmers to build wind turbines. One Italian wind company disclosed 40 new leases of farmland in just one rural Illinois county. "Ownership of U.S. agricultural land is not one of them."

Persons: Jim Monroe, Syngenta, Saswato Das Organizations: NBC, U.S . Department of Agriculture, NBC News, Smithfield Foods, U.S, Syngenta Locations: U.S, Italian, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, China, Iowa, Florida, California, Swiss

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), the pork industry trade group, supports the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act, a bill introduced by U.S. Animal welfare groups say Proposition 12 is necessary because some sows and hens are housed in cages so small they cannot turn around. "We ultimately don’t believe the EATS Act is aligned with progress in animal welfare," Carey said. Hormel Foods <HRL.N> and Tyson Foods (TSN.N) did not respond to questions about the EATS Act. All of its 750 ranchers are in compliance with Proposition 12, said vice president of communications Kerri McClimen.

Persons: Randy Hutton Jr, Leah Millis, Roger Marshall, Ashley Hinson, Clemens, Tyson, Bryan Humphreys, Chris Carey, Carey, Jim Monroe, Brian Moscogiuri, Galina Hale, Chris Green, Randy Hutton, Jr, Hutton Jr, Perdue, Kerri McClimen, Leah Douglas, David Gregorio, Marguerita Choy Organizations: REUTERS, U.S ., Pork Producers Council, U.S, Clemens Food Group, Supreme, Reuters, Smithfield Foods, Tyson Foods, University of California, Harvard Law School's Animal Law, Niman, Thomson Locations: Chestertown , Maryland, U.S, California, U.S . Congress, Smithfield, Santa Cruz, Shore

☆ 'Real' meat maker Cargill may emerge big winner in plant-based food as buzzy startup boom fades
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Bob Woods | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Additionally, Cargill began marketing several plant-based protein ingredients, made from soy, pea and wheat, to food and beverage manufacturers worldwide. What to expect for plant-based meat in next decade Cargill's calculated approach to plant-based meats coincides with the nascent industry's trajectory. And then there's the consumer's appetite to pay a premium price for plant-based meat. So Cargill's biggest competition will be the established plant-based meat companies, like Beyond and Impossible, he said. The future of plant-based meat might be analogous to the ongoing transition to electric vehicles.

Persons: Florian Schattenmann, Cargill Cargill, Cargill, Schattenmann, it's, John Baumgartner, Baumgartner, Caroline Bushnell, Bushnell, that's, Seth Goldstein, Goldstein, Tyson's Organizations: Cargill, Foods, Tyson Foods, Hormel Foods, Smithfield Foods, Cargill Inc, The, Bloomberg, Getty, Foods Cargill, Mizuho Securities USA, Good Food Institute, Cubiq Foods, FDA, North, Food and Drug Administration, Morningstar Research Services, Nielsen, annualized Nielsen, Nestle, Tesla, tiptoed, Ford, GM, Hyundai, Volkswagen Locations: U.S, Minneapolis, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Spanish, Berkeley , California, Puris, North American, Netherlands, Bflike, Belgian, North America

Federal worker safety inspections have alleged poor maintenance or a lack of safety training at some Tyson plants where ammonia leaks injured workers. CNN interviewed eleven current or former Tyson workers across three different plants who experienced ammonia leaks. !”A safety sign hangs on a fence at a Tyson plant in Hope, Arkansas, in March 2023. Still, some Tyson workers who lived through ammonia leaks said they wished more had been done to protect them. That means that the data doesn’t necessarily cover Tyson plants or other meat facilities that hold smaller amounts of ammonia.

April 12 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday approved a $75 million settlement between Smithfield Foods Inc and a class of consumers who accused the pork producer of conspiring to restrict supply in order to keep prices artificially high. Pork consumers last year settled with Smithfield rival JBS SA for $20 million. The judge in a separate order on Tuesday awarded nearly $25 million in legal fees to the plaintiffs firms representing the consumer class. The consumer class attorneys said in a court filing in January that they'd spent more than 37,000 hours pursuing antitrust claims over four years. The case is In re Pork Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, No.

WASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters) - Meat companies should examine their supply chains for evidence of child labor, the Biden administration said in a letter sent to top meatpacking companies on Wednesday. The letter is part of an effort by several agencies, led by the Department of Labor, to curb the use of illegal child labor across sectors. In February, the Labor Department found that more than 100 children had been illegally employed by Packers Sanitation Services Inc, a company that contracts with meat-packers to clean slaughterhouses. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack asked meat and poultry companies in the letter to determine whether illegal child labor is being used in their supply chains and to adopt stronger child labor standards for subcontractors. The Department of Agriculture is exploring enforcement mechanisms that would allow stronger oversight of child labor use in food supply chains and plans to take future steps on the issue, an agency spokesperson said.

☆ Smithfield Foods CEO Defends Pork Producer’s Chinese Ownership
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Patrick Thomas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Smithfield’s ownership has become a focus of criticism in Washington, D.C.SMITHFIELD, Va.—Smithfield Foods Inc., the country’s largest pork producer, is defending its turf against growing concerns from lawmakers over Chinese control of U.S. agriculture. The Virginia company, which was acquired in 2013 by Chinese pork company WH Group Ltd., said its ownership has helped fuel steady growth over the past decade and export more of its products to China, the world’s biggest pork market. Shane Smith , Smithfield’s chief executive, said WH’s backing has helped the company increase its sales, hire more U.S. workers and expand its plants’ processing capabilities.

The pork industry has defended the size of the cages used at pig farms as humane and necessary for animal safety. A legal doctrine called the "dormant" Commerce Clause bars states from passing laws discriminating against commerce in other states. "If you're looking for an example of an unconstitutional law, this is it," said Michael Formica, chief legal strategist for the pork producers. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court's decision to throw out the lawsuit, finding no Commerce Clause violation. 'DRAMATIC EXPANSION'A ruling by the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, favoring the pork industry would have major implications for Commerce Clause interpretation, according to some legal experts.

☆ Smithfield Foods to pay $75 mln in pork price-fixing settlement
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sept 27 (Reuters) - Smithfield Foods Inc has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a lawsuit by consumers who accused the meat producer and several competitors of conspiring to inflate prices in the $20 billion-a-year U.S. pork market by limiting supply. The accord follows the judge's Sept. 14 approval of a similar $20 million settlement between consumers and JBS SA (JBSS3.SA), one of Smithfield's largest rivals. The Smithfield, Virginia-based company, a unit of WH Group Ltd (0288.HK), denied liability but settled to avoid the uncertainty, risk and cost of litigation, settlement papers show. In the pork litigation, Smithfield previously reached settlements of $83 million with so-called "direct" purchasers such as Maplevale Farms and $42 million with commercial purchasers, a group that includes restaurants. The case is In re Pork Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, No.

☆ o jurnalistă, păcălită în direct. Credea că face interviu cu directorul unei mari companii, dar vorbea cu altcineva
▼ + stars: | 2020-12-25 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +1 min

Johnson a răspuns că personalul e „dedicat și rezistent” și a vorbit despre angajamentul companiei de a furniza angajaților „echipamente de protecție individuală”. Acesta s-a lansat apoiîntr-o critică a industriei alimentare și a vorbit despre modul în care aceasta ar putea contribui la o altă pandemie. Fermele sunt „locuri de experiment” pentru boli infecțioase, a spus el, înainte ca interviul să fie oprit. Bartiromo a spus apoi că postul de televiziune a fost păcălit și că persoana intervievată era de fapt altcineva. „Vrem să ne cerem scuze față de Dennis Organ, Smithfield Foods și față de publicul nostru pentru că am făcut această greșeală.

Persons: Maria, Dennis, Matt Johnson, Johnson, Bartiromo Organizations: Fox Business, Smithfield Locations: Foods, Dakota de Sud, Smithfield Foods

☆ A powerful group of lobbyists and donors pushed Mitch McConnell to take a 'hard red line' that delayed a stimulus bill for months
▼ + stars: | 2020-12-16 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

A powerful group of business organizations has pushed for the liability shields and donated generously to McConnell and other Republicans. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty ImagesThe Chamber of Commerce's big giveThe Chamber of Commerce has been among the most vocal proponents of liability protections. Overall, however, Walmart's workers and PAC gave about evenly to Democrats as to Republicans this election. Its PAC gave $9,000 to McConnell's campaign and gave $3,000 to Cornyn. During the past three decades, McConnell has received robust support from some of the industries lobbying hard for liability protections.

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