JBS expects U.S. poultry margins to improve in 4th quarter
JBS SA CEO Wesley Batista said that he expects profit margins from its U.S. poultry division to improve in the fourth quarter of 2013 due to a bumper corn harvest that will bring down feed costs. Residual high costs for corn and other feeds would likely continue in the third quarter for Pilgrim's Pride, the company's U.S. poultry unit, but then start to fall in the fourth quarter, helping profit margins, reports Reuters.
Company margins from Swift and Smithfield Beef, its beef businesses in the United States, would likely remain stable, he said, adding that cattle production costs are less responsive to swings in corn prices than poultry.