Alberta flooding, Cargill plant closure leads to beef supply disruption

The record flooding in the Canadian province of Alberta has led to the halting of cattle slaughter at the Cargill plant in High River, which in turn has disrupted the beef supply at Loblaw Cos., Canada's biggest grocer.

The June 21 closure of the High River plant “has interrupted our beef supply, however we were able to secure product from alternative sources to minimize the impact,” Melinda Metcalfe, a spokeswoman for Brampton, Ontario-based Loblaw, said in an e-mail, reports Bloomberg Businessweek.

The High River facility typically processes 4,500 head of cattle per day, but the lack of fresh water supplies had forced the operation to halt. Cargill said that the company's Guelph, Ontario, plant, has increased its capacity to help compensate.

The disruption hasn’t impacted the supply of beef cuts available to consumers, Metcalfe said. The company will continue to purchase from the High River facility once operations resume. The disruption has not yet affected the supply of beef to consumers.

Source: Bloomberg Businessweek

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