Smithfield Foods separates from European operations

The American company Smithfield Foods Inc., the world's largest producer of pork, announced yesterday that it will separate its European operations, Smithfield Foods and Morliny Foods, which will still remain subsidiaries of the WH Group, according to a press release from to the group that also has activities in Romania, notes Agerpres.

Smithfield Foods and Morliny Foods, formerly known as Smithfield Europe, supply meat and pork and poultry products from its operations in Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Spain and the UK. According to the press release, in the last decade, Morliny Foods adopted a regionally specific growth strategy in response to the more fragmented European market.

"The time has come for our North American and European operations to become stand-alone businesses in order to implement distinct strategies to respond to different market developments and opportunities," said Smithfield Foods President and CEO, Shane Smith.

For his part, the general director of Morliny Foods, Luis Cerdan, stated that this step will accelerate growth opportunities for employees and the company. "We will benefit from the fact that we will be a more agile competitor with a strategy focused on the European food market. We are confident that this step will accelerate growth opportunities for our employees and our company," Cerdan said.

Smithfield, a company owned by WH Group from Hong Kong, entered the Romanian market in 2004, with an investment of 600 million dollars, both in animal breeding capacities and in the technological slaughterhouse. The company is a leader on the Romanian market and manages over 20 farms, together with partner farmers. 29% of the pig carcasses produced in Romania come from Smithfield.