Smithfield Foods Announces Changes To Board Of Directors

SMITHFIELD, Va., March 9, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE:SFD) announced today that its Board of Directors has elected two new members, Richard T. Crowder, Professor of International Trade at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and Margaret G. Lewis, President of HCA's Capital Division, effective March 9, 2011.

In addition, the company said that Gaoning Ning has resigned as a member of the company's Board of Directors, effective March 2, 2011. Mr. Ning advised the company that he would resign as director due to an increasing number of other conflicting business and public commitments. Mr. Ning is the chairman of COFCO Limited, China's largest national agricultural trading and processing company.

"We are excited to welcome Dick and Margaret to the Board. I am confident that Smithfield will benefit from the vast experience and valuable insights of these two established leaders, as we continue to grow this company," said C. Larry Pope, president and chief executive officer.

"We would like to thank Mr. Ning for his service as a board member for the past two and a half years and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors," continued Mr. Pope. "As the leading consumer of pork, China remains an important export market for Smithfield and we look forward to continuing to foster our relationship with COFCO. We maintain a positive outlook for U.S. pork exports and foresee many future business opportunities for Smithfield and China," he commented.

Richard Crowder is a Professor of International Trade at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. From January 2006 until May 2007, he served as chief agriculture negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, responsible for directing all U.S. agricultural trade negotiations worldwide, including multilateral negotiations in the World Trade Organization, as well as regional and bilateral negotiations. He also served as a senior advisor to the U.S. Trade Representative from May 2007 until April 2008.