Smithfield agrees to sell US pork on JD.com

Pork produced in the US is going to be available online in China.

Smithfield Foods, the Chinese-owned US pork giant, will for the first time sell its pork products online via JD.com Inc, China's second-largest e-commerce site.

Smithfield, based in Smithfield, Virginia, is a wholly owned subsidiary of WH Group Ltd, the world's largest pork company. WH Group bought Smithfield in 2013 in a $4.7 billion deal aimed at tapping supplies of US meat for export to China.

JD Fresh, the fresh food division of JD.com, will become the exclusive online sales platform in China for Smithfield's pork products, according to a tripartite agreement signed on Tuesday by Smithfield, JD.com and China's Henan Shuanghui Investment and Development Co.

More than 10 kinds of exclusive pork products will be offered on JD.com, and the three will cooperate on big data, cold chain logistics and food traceability.

Richard Liu, JD.com chairman and CEO, said the products sold on JD will include bone-in cuts and variety meats, with a focus on small packaged frozen products. Those are products that Smithfield specializes in, and include the types of products in highest demand in China.

Liu said that JD Fresh is the largest direct sales fresh-food platform largest online pork retail platform in China.

Kenneth Sullivan, CEO of Smithfield, said, "Smithfield has a strong food-safety platform and we take this even further to deliver products consumers enjoy and feel good about sharing with their families."

China Daily