WH Group to leverage Smithfield supply in 2015 10202
Smithfield contributed 17.4 million hogs, $580 million to the company in 2014.
WH Group, the world’s largest hog producer, produced 17.7 million hogs in 2014, a 223.9% increase over the previous year. It was the 2013 acquisition of Smithfield that provided the surge in production, according to the company, and plans to continue to leverage that increased supply are in the works.
The company’s hog production volume in China was 311,000 heads in 2014, but Smithfield contributed 17.4 million more hogs to the company’s hog production volume in 2014, representing a year-on-year growth of 237.4%.
Additionally, the company said turnover from its hog production operations increased from $191 million in 2013 to $587 million in 2014 as a result of the full-year effect of contribution of Smithfield and the high hog prices in the United States. Turnover from hog production operations in China reached $7 million, while the other $580 million came from Smithfield, an increase of 231.4% year-on-year.
“Since the Smithfield acquisition in 2013, WH Group fully leveraged the synergies between its businesses in China and the United States,” the company said. “To capture the huge Chinese consumer demand for high-quality meat products, the company’s first factory for the production of Smithfield-branded products will be completed soon and expected to commence operations in 2015.”
The new factory will produce American-style low-temperature meat products including bacon, ham, hamburgers and sausages, etc.
The company said it will also continue to adopt a flexible strategy to identify the optimal timing of trades to increase Smithfield’s fresh pork exports to China, to expand Smithfield’s business in the Chinese market.
About the Author
You May Also Like