Smithfield top man concerned over situation in Timisoara

US group Smithfield, the world’s biggest pork producer, which registered a turnover worth approximately 100m euros in Romania in 2006, could post losses worth more than 6m euros because of the outbreak of swine fever discovered in three of the 33 Romanian farms owned by the company. In a presentation of the financial results for H1, group chairman, C. Larry Pope, stated the impact of the cases of swine fever discovered at the Romanian farms owned by the group would be larger than previously estimated- 4-5m euros, after a third case was confirmed. In the 3 farms affected by swine fever, Smithfield holds around 53,000 hogs that will now have to be incinerated. Smithfield Romania’s losses could exceed 6 million euros, but could also be higher. The impact of the swine fever cases discovered in Smithfield’s farms over the group’s financial results is more serious as several of the group’s fiscal entities stepped into the black for the first time last year.