JBS Accounts For A Quarter Of Pork Bought By The Federal Government To Offset Trade Losses

A Brazilian-owned meat processing company undercut its competition by more than $1 per pound to win nearly $78 million in pork contracts through a federal program launched to help American farmers offset the impact from an ongoing trade war. As a result, JBS USA has won more than 26 percent of the $300 million the USDA has allocated to pork so far — more than any other company, according to an analysis of bid awards by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. The USDA’s Trade Mitigation Program was announced last August, and is intended to help U.S. farmers and ranchers hurt by the ongoing trade disputes with China, Mexico, Canada and other trading partners. The program included direct payments to farmers, as well as $1.2 billion in food purchases from farmers and ranchers whose crops normally benefit from international markets. It called for $558 million worth of pork purchases. JBS bid an average of $2.56 per pound for five pound pork loin cuts, while its competitors bid an average of $3.80 per pound. The company bid as low as $2.02 for the cut, the Midwest Center found. The analysis also found that JBS bid 33 percent less on the contracts — undercutting its competitors, even Tyson Foods, the second largest meat processor in the country. JBS USA is the U.S. division of JBS SA, the world’s largest meat producer. The company owns more than 300 live hog operations in the United States. It’s expanded its reach in the U.S. in the last decade, buying Swift & Co., Smithfield Beef Group, Inc., Pilgrim’s Pride poultry and Cargill’s pork business, in addition to other acquisitions abroad...MORE