Tyson Foods CEO Comments on Pig Virus Impact

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

The pig-killing virus known as Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) that has been spreading across U.S. hog farms since last spring, could cut pork production by about 4 per cent in 2014, Tyson Foods CEO Donnie Smith warns.

According to Smith, PED has forced Tyson to shift its production operations to deal with tighter hog supplies. Despite smaller pork supplies, Smith expects the pork segment of its business to “perform well,” in 2014.

Smith made these comments following the release of Tyson’s second-quarter profit earnings report. The company reported a profit of $213 million, or 60 cents a share, which is up from $95 million, or 26 cents a share, from a year ago.

Highlights:

• Pork sales – were up 13% to $1.49 billion
• Chicken sales – were up 4% to $2.84 billion
• Beef sales – were up 11% to $3.83 billion (beef volume was down, but higher prices lifted the segment)