INVESTMENTS Investments (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Apr. 28, 2013

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 28, 2013		April 29, 2012
			(in millions)
Campofrío Food Group (CFG)	International	37%	$	376.2	$	385.2
Mexican joint ventures	International	50%	129.6		111.2
All other equity method investments	Various	Various	26.6		26.2
Total investments			$	532.4	$	522.6

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 during the last 24 months.

Date	Share Price		Carrying Value
May 5, 2011	€	9.27	€	7.93
February 17, 2012	€	7.20	€	7.54
April 29, 2012 (1)	€	6.30	€	7.70
April 28, 2013 (1) (2)	€	4.99	€	7.64

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⁽¹⁾  Share prices on quarter end date reflect the last trading day in the quarter.

⁽²⁾  Subsequent to the end of fiscal 2013, CFG's share price traded as high as €5.88 per share on May 30, 2013.

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

(Income) loss from equity method investments consists of the following:

		Fiscal Years
Equity Investment	Segment	2013			2012			2011
		(in millions)
CFG (1)	International	$	(4.8	)	$	25.0		$	(17.0	)
Mexican joint ventures	International	(9.3		)	(13.4		)	(29.6		)
All other equity method investments	Various	(0.9		)	(1.7		)	(3.5		)
Loss (income) from equity method investments		$	(15.0	)	$	9.9		$	(50.1	)

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⁽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.

Campofrio Food Group [Member]

Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]

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
	2013		2012			2011
	(in millions)
Income statement information:
Sales	$	2,464.6	$	2,536.1		$	2,433.3
Gross profit	564.4		583.0			423.0
Net income (loss)	13.0		(71.2		)	46.1
			April 28, 2013			April 29, 2012
			(in millions)
Balance sheet information:
Current assets			$	909.9		$	944.5
Long-term assets			1,926.8			1,930.4
Current liabilities			993.6			941.9
Long-term liabilities			1,094.2			1,168.1