Guarantor and Non-Guarantor Financial Information (Details 1) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Oct. 31, 2012	Apr. 30, 2012	Oct. 31, 2011	Apr. 30, 2011
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 203,555	$ 229,708	$ 496,288	$ 319,845
Inventories	975,427	961,576
Other current assets	557,080	452,181
Total Current Assets	1,736,062	1,643,465
PROPERTY, PLANT, AND EQUIPMENT	1,113,446	1,096,089
INVESTMENTS IN SUBSIDIARIES AND INTERCOMPANY	0	0
OTHER NONCURRENT ASSETS
Goodwill	3,053,549	3,054,618
Other intangible assets - net	3,138,056	3,187,007
Other noncurrent assets	147,640	134,047
Total Other Noncurrent Assets	6,339,245	6,375,672
Total assets	9,188,753	9,115,226
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Total Current Liabilities	706,066	616,972
NONCURRENT LIABILITIES
Long-term debt	2,019,196	2,020,543
Deferred income taxes	996,874	992,692
Other noncurrent liabilities	313,870	321,633
Total Noncurrent Liabilities	3,329,940	3,334,868
Total Shareholders' Equity	5,152,747	5,163,386
Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity	9,188,753	9,115,226
The J.M. Smucker Company (Parent) [Member]
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	67,650	108,281	378,441	206,845
Inventories	0	0
Other current assets	473,178	334,220
Total Current Assets	540,828	442,501
PROPERTY, PLANT, AND EQUIPMENT	228,729	220,354
INVESTMENTS IN SUBSIDIARIES AND INTERCOMPANY	5,615,253	5,684,496
OTHER NONCURRENT ASSETS
Goodwill	981,606	981,606
Other intangible assets - net	433,941	435,713
Other noncurrent assets	69,918	59,992
Total Other Noncurrent Assets	1,485,465	1,477,311
Total assets	7,870,275	7,824,662
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Total Current Liabilities	373,502	323,608
NONCURRENT LIABILITIES
Long-term debt	2,019,196	2,020,543
Deferred income taxes	107,286	104,822
Other noncurrent liabilities	217,544	212,303
Total Noncurrent Liabilities	2,344,026	2,337,668
Total Shareholders' Equity	5,152,747	5,163,386
Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity	7,870,275	7,824,662
Subsidiary Guarantors [Member]
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Inventories	156,817	161,411
Other current assets	4,634	3,499
Total Current Assets	161,451	164,910
PROPERTY, PLANT, AND EQUIPMENT	411,826	389,163
INVESTMENTS IN SUBSIDIARIES AND INTERCOMPANY	4,193,672	4,241,145
OTHER NONCURRENT ASSETS
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets - net	0	0
Other noncurrent assets	14,387	11,137
Total Other Noncurrent Assets	14,387	11,137
Total assets	4,781,336	4,806,355
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Total Current Liabilities	114,718	101,714
NONCURRENT LIABILITIES
Long-term debt	0	0
Deferred income taxes	0	311
Other noncurrent liabilities	19,955	20,031
Total Noncurrent Liabilities	19,955	20,342
Total Shareholders' Equity	4,646,663	4,684,299
Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity	4,781,336	4,806,355
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	135,905	121,427	117,847	113,000
Inventories	835,733	815,030
Other current assets	79,268	114,462
Total Current Assets	1,050,906	1,050,919
PROPERTY, PLANT, AND EQUIPMENT	472,891	486,572
INVESTMENTS IN SUBSIDIARIES AND INTERCOMPANY	680,287	702,550
OTHER NONCURRENT ASSETS
Goodwill	2,071,943	2,073,012
Other intangible assets - net	2,704,115	2,751,294
Other noncurrent assets	63,335	62,918
Total Other Noncurrent Assets	4,839,393	4,887,224
Total assets	7,043,477	7,127,265
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Total Current Liabilities	217,846	191,650
NONCURRENT LIABILITIES
Long-term debt	0	0
Deferred income taxes	889,588	887,559
Other noncurrent liabilities	76,371	89,299
Total Noncurrent Liabilities	965,959	976,858
Total Shareholders' Equity	5,859,672	5,958,757
Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity	7,043,477	7,127,265
Eliminations [Member]
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Inventories	(17,123)	(14,865)
Other current assets	0	0
Total Current Assets	(17,123)	(14,865)
PROPERTY, PLANT, AND EQUIPMENT	0	0
INVESTMENTS IN SUBSIDIARIES AND INTERCOMPANY	(10,489,212)	(10,628,191)
OTHER NONCURRENT ASSETS
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets - net	0	0
Other noncurrent assets	0	0
Total Other Noncurrent Assets	0	0
Total assets	(10,506,335)	(10,643,056)
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Total Current Liabilities	0	0
NONCURRENT LIABILITIES
Long-term debt	0	0
Deferred income taxes	0	0
Other noncurrent liabilities	0	0
Total Noncurrent Liabilities	0	0
Total Shareholders' Equity	(10,506,335)	(10,643,056)
Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity	$ (10,506,335)	$ (10,643,056)