Smithfield Foods plans $1.3 billion investment in a new pork processing facility in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Smithfield's parent company, WH Group,
is based in China.

Smithfield Foods announced plans to invest $1.3 billion to build a new pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, S.D. "When in operation, the plant is expected to employ about 3,000 workers and be able to slaughter about 20,000 hogs a day," reports Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. "The new project replaces Smithfield’s existing, more than 100-year-old facility in the city."

The announcement comes as some U.S. lawmakers and officials have questioned Smithfield's ties to its Chinese parent company, WH Group, which took over the U.S.-owned company in 2013. Thomas writes, "The company has said it is investing in the U.S. and denied accusations that its decisions are influenced by the Chinese government."

Building a new slaughterhouse is expensive and rare in today's competitive market, where meat packers have struggled to glean profits. "Tyson Foods closed one of its largest beef processing plants, in Lexington, Neb., which employed 3,200 people, and cut production at a Texas facility in half."

Compared to 2023 margins, today's pork processors are making a profit. "Over the past year, JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker and Smithfield’s top pork rival, has said it is expanding its pork operations in response to Americans’ growing appetite for protein," Thomas explains.

The company's building plans feature "advanced automation technology and a streamlined design," Thomas adds. "The company said the plant will source about all of its hogs from nearby farmers in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota."