Despite some poultry price increases, struggling U.S. chicken producers are still losing money due to historically high feed costs, Joe Sanderson, CEO of Sanderson Farms (SAFM.O), told the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit.
"The environment's changed some, but it's not enough to take the majority of our industry out of red ink," Sanderson said.
U.S. chickens eat about 1.2 billion bushels of U.S. corn a year, or 9 percent of the crop. So when the price of corn sped past $7 per bushel this year, that hurt chicken producers.
In February, Sanderson Farms, one of the most efficient producers, reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss due to an excess of chicken and higher feed costs.
The company has delayed plans to build a new plant in North Carolina amid doubts about corn prices and availability.
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