In the pork production world, NC is the 3rd largest in the US following MN and tops being IOWA.
There is this very BIG Chi-Com connection— and can tell you, when the takeover happened NC people stopped buying Smithfield== period.
This “shortage” can’t be connected to Chi-Coms continued invasion of US and Europ by weaponized Coronavirus.... could it?
“The Largest Pork Producer in the U.S. is Smithfield Foods, a wholly-owned subsidiary of WH Group of China, formerly known as the Shuanghui Group. Based out of Smithfield, Virginia, Smithfield Foods has 55,000 employees, 40,000 in the U.S. and 15,000 in Europe. In 2019, Smithfield Foods generated $16 billion in sales.
Smithfield Foods consists of 530 company-owned and 2,100 contract farms in 15 states and produces nearly 18 million pigs annually. Sixty-five percent of farms owned by Smithfield Foods—203 and 139, respectively—are located in North Carolina and Missouri.”
From Sentient.com database TOP PORK PRODUCERS.
Don’t panic.
Iowa alone produces around 50 million hogs per year.
Most Smithfield hogs are raised in NC and MO.
“the takeover happened NC people stopped buying Smithfield== period.”
Short memories. Smithfield is the dominant pork product present in the majority of grocery chains I frequent here in NC.