Smithfield to boost exports to China

Shuanghui to keep US firm's brand and management unchanged, factories open

C. Larry Pope, president and chief executive officer of Smithfield Foods Inc, left, and Wan Long, chairman of Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd, at a news conference in Hong Kong on Thursday. Shuanghui will not close Smithfield factories, Wan said. Provided to China Daily

Smithfield Foods Inc, the world's largest hog producer, said it will reduce the use of a feed additive that makes pork leaner as it seeks to win more business in China.

The United States-based company, acquired by Hong Kong-based Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd in a $4.7 billion deal last month, has the capacity to ship "large quantities" of ractopamine-free pork to China, Chief Executive Officer C. Larry Pope said in an interview on Wednesday in Hong Kong. China bans the use of the additive.

Smithfield's takeover by Shuanghui, the largest Chinese purchase of a US company, will help boost China's import of pork, which may climb to 1.39 million metric tons, according to the US Meat Export Federation. Shuanghui will promote Smithfield products and brands to Chinese customers, Shuanghui Chairman Wan Long said in the same interview.

"Our top priority now is to expand the trading of Smithfield and to expand the export market," Wan said on Thursday at a news conference in Hong Kong. "There's a huge potential for the export of US pork to outside of the United States."

Shuanghui will keep Smithfield's brand and management unchanged, and there won't be any factory closures, Wan said.