Smithfield Turns to Brazil for Corn
2012-07-25 17:52:58
Smithfield Foods Inc., the world's largest pork producer, said Tuesday it will import corn from Brazil, a move that reflects how surging costs for U.S. feed grains are rippling through the livestock and meat industry.
The worst drought in decades has battered the U.S. Corn Belt, leading to tight supplies and sharply higher prices.
Analysts say it is unusual for a U.S. livestock producer to import supplies from South America, though it could be cheaper to buy and ship corn from there to the eastern U.S. than to get it by rail from the Midwest