Background Meat production USA
Is North America facing a meat shortage?
More and more slaughterhouses on the North American continent are closing their doors. The high number of infections with the corona virus in the United States and Canada is causing problems for the staffing of slaughterhouses. There is talk of possible meat shortages.
What's the situation now? Smithfields, one of the largest pork producers in the United States, announced early this week that they will be closing their factory in South Dakota for an extended period of time. The Sioux Falls site closed at the request of the state governor. The factory had to contend with a large amount of corona infections, about 200 of the 3.700 employees.
Many different slaughterhouses close factories
But not only Smithfields has to deal with the problems caused by the corona outbreak. Other slaughterhouses are also closing their doors, both in the US and Canada. For example, Cargill has closed a location in Pennsylvania, as has JBS USA. The latter meat company has also significantly scaled down production at a factory in Colorado. In the US, companies such as Sanderson Farms (Chicken, Georgia), Tyson Foods (Iowa), Aurora Packing Company (Illinois) and National Beef Packing Co (Iowa) have taken measures or even closed their doors.
Canada is also dealing with factories that close due to corona cases among employees. What is striking is the difference in the number of positively tested people before the doors close. While the factories in the US only close after having identified dozens of positively tested employees, the Canadian factories only have 10 positively tested employees. Well-known Canadian slaughterhouses that keep their doors closed are Olymel (Yamachiche, Quebec), Maple Leaf Foods (Ontario) and Harmony Beef (Alberta)
Are there any meat shortages?
The answer to this question has so far been ‘no’. However, this situation should not last too long, because then there will be more and more uncertainty. Due to the closing of food companies, huge stocks of meat remain, such as from bacon† So Americans don't have to worry (yet) about frozen meat products. It only becomes a concern when the cold stores become overcrowded, but so far this has not happened.
When it comes to fresh meat, that's a different story. Logically, less fresh meat comes onto the market as more factories close. It also depends on the period in which factories keep their doors closed. In any case, it is certain that production is declining. There is therefore a warning about a possible shortage if the situation does not change quickly.
Overcrowded stables
The corona outbreaks at the factories have penetrated far into the heart of the meat sector. Because factories do not run optimally, many livestock farmers do not get rid of their animals. As a result, the stables are getting fuller and fuller. There are already stories that some livestock farmers have to put animals to sleep out of necessity, purely because there is no more space
In addition, the costs accumulate, for example for feed and water, if the animals remain on the livestock farms for longer. As the animals grow, the feed and water requirements also increase. Another additional problem is that the value of the livestock decreases. Not only because they sometimes no longer meet the requirements of the customers, but also because there is a surplus. Meanwhile, the US pig price has fallen to the lowest level since 2002.Â
Jorine Cosse
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