INVESTMENTS Investments (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Apr. 29, 2012

Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]

Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Table Text Block]

Investments consist of the following: 

Equity Investment	Segment	% Owned	April 29, 2012		May 1, 2011
			(in millions)
Campofrío Food Group (CFG)	International	37%	$	385.2	$	445.1
Mexican joint ventures	International	50%	111.2		110.2
All other equity method investments	Various	Various	26.2		27.2
Total investments			$	522.6	$	582.5

Schedule of (Income) Loss from Equity Method Investments [Table Text Block]

Loss (income) from equity method investments consists of the following:

		Fiscal Years
Equity Investment	Segment	2012			2011			2010
		(in millions)
CFG (1)	International	$	25.0		$	(17.0	)	$	(4.5	)
Mexican joint ventures	International	(13.4		)	(29.6		)	(13.2		)
Butterball (2)	Other	—			(1.3		)	(18.8		)
All other equity method investments	Various	(1.7		)	(2.2		)	(2.1		)
Loss (income) from equity method investments		$	9.9		$	(50.1	)	$	(38.6	)

——————————————

⁽¹⁾  CFG prepares its financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. Our share of CFG’s results reflects U.S. GAAP adjustments and thus, there may be differences between the amounts we report for CFG and the amounts reported by CFG.

⁽²⁾  In the third quarter of fiscal 2011, we completed the sale of Butterball. See Note 3—Impairment and Disposal of Long-lived Assets for further discussion.

Campofrio Food Group [Member]

Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]

Per Share Price for Equtiy Method Investment [Table Text Block]

The table below shows CFG's intra-day high share price and Smithfield's carrying value, expressed in euro per share, on various dates relevant to our disclosures.

Date	Share Price		Carrying Value
February 17, 2012	€	7.20	€	7.54
April 29, 2012 (1)	€	6.30	€	7.70

——————————————

⁽¹⁾  Share prices on year-end dates reflect the last trading day in the fiscal year.

Schedule of Summarized Financial Information for Equity Method Investment [Table Text Block]

The following summarized financial information for CFG is based on CFG's financial statements and translated into U.S. Dollars:

	Fiscal Years
	2012			2011		2010
	(in millions)
Income statement information:
Sales	$	2,536.1		$	2,433.3	$	2,593.8
Gross profit	583.0			423.0		559.6
Net income (loss)	(71.2		)	46.1		12.9
				April 29, 2012		May 1, 2011
				(in millions)
Balance sheet information:
Current assets				$	944.5	$	1,025.6
Long-term assets				1,930.4		1,856.1
Current liabilities				941.9		874.1
Long-term liabilities				1,168.1		990.9