British and Brazilian wheat feeds American pigs

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Talk about taking coal to Newcastle. Late last year, American press reports pointed to Smithfield Foods Inc.'s plans to import wheat from Britain and Brazil to feed pigs on the American eastern seaboard.

The reason? Economics. Plunging ocean freight rates make foreign wheat delivered to the U.S. Southeast more economic than corn or wheat trucked or railed from Midwest states.

Some wheat middlings are also going to be imported from Nigeria. The grain comes into the United States through Wilmington Bulk LLC, a consortium based in – you guessed it – North Carolina, the nation's second largest pork-producing state.

Wheat is also being purchased from Brazil, another economic conundrum. Brazil usually imports from Argentina, which is short this year because of dry weather. BF