Tyson Foods Inc., the largest U.S. chicken producer, is among companies set to gain after cutting output to restore profitability following a glut of meat.
The industry was spurred into action after suffering months of losses amid higher feed costs and sluggish demand, said Mike Cockrell, chief financial officer at Sanderson Farms Inc. Chicken producers Townsends Inc. and Allen Family Foods Inc. declared bankruptcy in the past year as meat prices fell and inventories rose.
The number of hens laying eggs in the U.S. to produce chicken meat stood at 50.2 million on Nov. 1, the smallest since December 1996, Department of Agriculture data show. U.S. chicken-meat output will drop 1.7 percent next year, the USDA said Nov. 9. Corn, which is used as feed, has fallen 25 percent since touching a three-year high of $7.93 a bushel in June and futures prices show further declines in the second half of 2012.
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