News Corona crisis
Large pig integration US throws in the towel
Maxwell Foods, one of the largest swine integrators in the United States, has decided to close its 54.000 sow business. According to the company, it is unsustainable to continue operations given the financial losses that are expected to come.
The decision to close the business after more than 31 years is based on the current market situation and the lack of a buyer for the business. Due to the expected financial losses related to the corona crisis, it is not possible to continue the company healthy. "The continued low prices paid for our product, along with the impact of the coronavirus crisis, make current and projected financial losses unsustainable for us to continue operating," Maxwell Foods said in a statement.
The company is expected to shut down all its activities by mid-2021. The North Carolina Pork Council (NCPC) said in a statement that it regretted the decision. “We are deeply saddened that the ongoing and unsustainable economic conditions mean that Maxwell Foods will have to make the difficult decision to discontinue pig production in mid-2021.”
Major producer
Maxwell Foods had no fewer than 100.000 sows in the same period last year, making it one of the largest pig breeders in the country. At the end of last year, approximately 1 sows were sold to the Clemens Group from Hatfield. The company is in the process of phasing out production from August 46.000, and the remaining 6 sows the company still has will be culled. It is expected that all activities will have ceased completely by mid-54.000. Through the transition process, the NCPC hopes that current employees will be able to find other jobs in livestock farming.
Significantly fewer throws
It is the first time that a major sow farmer in the US has shut down operations. "Previously, such companies were always acquired, such as IE Smithfield Foods, JBS and, for example, Cargill," said Jim Long, CEO and president of swine genetics producer Genesus, on the statement that the company will be closing.
Pig production in the US is currently declining sharply. Between December 2019 and June 2020, the number of breeding sows has stagnated at 150.000. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted a 1% drop in litters in its June 5 report. This equates to about 150.000 fewer litters per week.
Chanti Oussoren
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