EXHIBIT 99.2

                                                           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                  Smithfield Foods Sells $300 Million in Notes

Smithfield, Virginia (October 18, 2001)--Smithfield Foods, Inc. announced that
it has sold $300 million aggregate principal amount of its senior unsecured
notes due 2009. The offered notes will bear interest at a fixed rate of 8%.

The company is offering the notes in reliance on an exemption from registration
for offers and sales of securities that do not involve a public offering. The
offering and sale of the notes have not been registered under the Securities Act
of 1993, as amended, and the notes may not be offered or sold in the United
States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration
requirements.

This news release may contain "forward-looking" information within the meaning
of the federal securities laws. The forward-looking information may include
statements concerning the Company's outlook for the future, as well as other
statements of beliefs, future plans and strategies or anticipated events, and
similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. The
forward-looking information and statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These risks and uncertainties
include availability and prices of live hogs, raw materials and supplies, live
hog production costs, product pricing, the competitive environment and related
market conditions, operating efficiencies, access to capital, the cost of
compliance with environmental and health standards, adverse results from ongoing
litigation and actions of domestic and foreign governments.

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Contact:
Jerry Hostetter
Smithfield Foods, Inc.
(212) 758-2100