Smithfield Foods and China

CEO of Largest US Pork Producer Says Being Acquired by a Chinese Company Has Led to 'A Really Successful Relationship'

Chinese pork company WH Group Ltd. bought Smithfield, America’s largest producer of pork products, in 2013 for $4.7 billion.

The purchase of the company by Chinese WH Group set off alarm bells in Washington 10 years ago, according to the Journal, but the deal was allowed to go through.

“From purchasing fields and pastures to gobbling up companies like Smithfield, Chinese influence in American agriculture means that China’s needs, not America’s, come first,” said Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton.

Sep 30, 2022: Smithfield Foods revenue was $14.4B annually.

China owns roughly 384,000 acres of U.S. agricultural land, according to a 2021 report from the Department of Agriculture. Of that, 195,000 acres, worth almost $2 billion when purchased, are owned by 85 Chinese investors, which could be individuals, companies or the government. The other 189,000 acres were worth $235 million when purchased and are owned by 62 U.S. corporations with Chinese shareholders.

Now the political climate has changed drastically. China is our number one enemy and there needs to be laws preventing China from buying up our farmland and food supply companies in the United States. This is in the national interest. In February, Republican members of Congress introduced a bill that would prohibit nonresident aliens, companies and other entities associated with the Chinese government from buying agricultural land in the U.S.

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