Is the US facing a meat shortage because of the coronavirus pandemic?
This week Smithfield Foods in South Dakota said they were closing down one of their factories because some of its workers tested positive for Covid-19.
On Tuesday, Smithfield Foods, located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, confirmed that its pork production facility will shut down because workers at its plant tested positive for the coronavirus.
The closing of this single plant will affect meat production in the entire country, since it produces up to 5% of all American pork. Originally Smithfield Foods wanted to close down the plant for a few days but the Government has ordered them to close for two weeks.
Smithfield plant not only one to report cases of COVID-19
The CEO of Smithfield Foods, Kenneth Sullivan said, “It is impossible to keep our grocery stores stocked if our plants are not open. Also our meat plant is not the only one that had to close or cut production due to the outbreak.”
Tyson Foods also suspended production in Iowa for the same reason after workers tested positive for coronavirus: “We had more than two dozen confirmed cases of Covid-19 in our plant. In an effort to minimize the impact on our overall production, we’re diverting the livestock supply originally scheduled for delivery to Columbus Junction to some of our other pork plants in the region.”
Another Iowa-based producer, National Beef Packing has also suspended operations and now experts predict that people will start to panic-buy meat in supermarkets due to the decrease in production.