Minnesota company says it expects to be short on turkeys, while customer demand remains high.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza is affecting turkeys and could cause “large supply gaps” beginning in the current quarter, Hormel Foods Corp. said Thursday.
“Our Jennie-O Turkey Store team is facing an uncertain period ahead,” Chief Executive Jim Snee said. The company plans to take appropriate actions to protect the health of the turkeys across Hormel’s supply chain, he said.
“Similar to what we experienced in 2015, HPAI is expected to have a meaningful impact on industry poultry supplies over the coming months,” he said. “Beginning in the third quarter, we anticipate large supply gaps in the Jennie-O Turkey Store vertically integrated supply chain, caused by flock losses to date.”
He described the outbreaks of avian flu among the company’s turkeys as a “very difficult situation” and said Hormel’s team is managing through operational challenges caused by the outbreaks.
Source: Wall Street Journal
