Ag secretary: U.S. meat plants set to reopen within 10 days
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said during a meeting with President Donald Trump and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds that he expects U.S. meatpacking plants to fully resume operations within a week to 10 days.
Trump said the U.S. has “plenty of supply” of meat.
“Within a week and a half, we’ll be in great shape. Maybe sooner,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office.
Iowa is home to some of the nation’s largest meat plants. Trump last week signed an executive order that directs slaughterhouses and processing facilities to remain open, deeming them essential to the country’s meat supply.
However, the move set off a controversy with labor unions, who say their workers face unsafe conditions in the plants.
More than half of workers at some American meat plants tested positive for the novel coronavirus, which has slowed production even as some facilities reopen.
Absenteeism is spiking at some plants as workers take leave — or quit — out of fear of being infected on the job.
“I’d say probably a week to 10 days before we’re fully back up,” Perdue said.
Prices for wholesale beef and pork have jumped more than 20 percent since Trump issued the order to keep meatpackers running.
Trump is prodding states to reopen their economies, even as cases and deaths continue to mount in the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, the world’s largest.
Reynolds, a Republican, announced last week that certain businesses — including restaurants, malls and fitness centers in roughly three-quarters of the state — could open with limited capacity.
She also lifted restrictions on religious services statewide, as long as they follow social distancing guidelines.
Iowa is crucial to Trump’s reelection bid, and the White House is paying close attention to the situation there.
Shortages caused by closures and slowdowns have forced grocers, such as Kroger Co. and Costco Wholesale Corp., to ration supplies. Iowa-based Hy-Vee Inc. on Tuesday became the latest grocery to put some limits on meat purchases.
Wendy’s Co. this week reported shortages of some menu items, including hamburgers, at some locations. Trump said he would call his friend and billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, who’s the chairman of Wendy’s board, about the issue.
“They’re going to be OK,” Trump said when asked about Wendy’s. “Basically you’re saying in a week and a half, you think everything’s going to be good, or sooner.”
Vice President Mike Pence plans to visit Hy-Vee headquarters Friday to discuss food supply as part of a trip to the state. He also plans to meet with faith leaders in order “to encourage houses of worship to responsibly reopen,” his office said.
Iowa has reported more than 1,600 cases of the virus at just four meatpacking plants. At a Tyson Foods Inc. plant in the town of Perry, nearly 58 percent of employees tested for the virus were infected, a state health official said Tuesday.