Tyson Gets Caught in the Ethanol Squeeze

People are going out less, buying and eating less chicken, and Tyson Foods (TSN - commentary - Cramer's Take) is being squeezed horribly by grain prices largely because of ethanol, and there will be no relief, as the politicians are not backing away from the mandate.

It is truly amazing that this great American company is square in the cross-hairs of pretty much everything that is going on right now, and I see no relief for it.

Tyson has huge input costs and can't pass on a thing. The ethanol mandate is like a death sentence for these guys. Christopher Cox ought to include it in his list of 19 protected stocks!

I have no idea what the solution is for Tyson, especially because so many of the packaged food companies have been able to pass through increases, especially General Mills (GIS - commentary - Cramer's Take), which deserves the Congressional Medal of Performance during this period.

I see no one who would want to buy Tyson Foods. I see the company's estimates simply impossible to meet. I see still one more opportunity to buy puts on a company's stock that could continue to go down, as the politicians just won't budge from this anti-Tyson stance.

At the time of publication, Cramer had no positions in stocks mentioned.

ALL JIM CRAMER BLOG ENTRIES | POST A COMMENT | READ COMMENTS  

---

Jim Cramer is a director and co-founder of TheStreet.com. He contributes daily market commentary for TheStreet.com's sites and serves as an adviser to the company's CEO. Outside contributing columnists for TheStreet.com and RealMoney.com, including Cramer, may, from time to time, write about stocks in which they have a position. In such cases, appropriate disclosure is made. To see his personal portfolio and find out what trades Cramer will make before he makes them, sign up for Action Alerts PLUS. Watch Cramer on "Mad Money" weeknights on CNBC. To order Cramer's newest book -- "Jim Cramer's Stay Mad for Life: Get Rich, Stay Rich (Make Your Kids Even Richer)," click here. Click here to order "Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich," click here to order "Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World," click here to get "You Got Screwed!" and click here for Cramer's autobiography, "Confessions of a Street Addict." While he cannot provide personalized investment advice or recommendations, he appreciates your feedback and invites you to send comments by clicking here.

TheStreet.com has a revenue-sharing relationship with Amazon.com under which it receives a portion of the revenue from Amazon.com purchases by customers directed there from TheStreet.com.