CHICAGO, March 12 (Reuters) -

Tariffs

make it more complicated for Smithfield Foods ( SFD ), the

biggest U.S. pork processor, to sell all parts of a pig, CEO

Shane Smith said on Wednesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump roiled agricultural markets by

announcing tariffs last week on goods from China, Mexico and

Canada, the top importers of American farm products. Two days

after the announcement, Trump suspended most of the tariffs on

Canada and Mexico for a month.

China, the world's biggest pork consumer, retaliated with

hikes to import levies covering $21 billion worth of American

agricultural and food products.

Smithfield does not export material amounts of meat to

China, but ships offal products, such as pig stomachs, hearts

and heads that U.S. consumers generally do not eat, Smith said.

The company believes China will still be the best market for

offal with increased tariffs, he said.

"In fresh pork, it's really about finding a home for every

piece of that," Smith said on a livestream of a Bank of America

event.

"With the tariffs coming in, it makes it more complicated as

you look around the globe and see how things are moving and how

exchange rates are moving."

Tariffs can impact U.S. pork producers because they import

baby piglets from Canada.

Canada last week suspended imports from Smithfield's

processing facility in Tar Heel, North Carolina, the biggest

U.S. pork plant, due to an issue regarding offal, according to

the company.

The halt was not related to tariffs, and Smithfield is

working to resolve the issue, Smith said.

"There was a customer pickup and there was a problem when it

reached the border," he said. "We're bringing that product

back."

Smithfield, which has about 34,000 U.S. employees,

previously warned it could suffer worker shortages or higher

employment costs if the Trump administration enacts new

immigration laws.

"We're paying close attention to all of the things that are

coming out," Smith said. "We personally haven't seen a big

impact, where we think maybe some others have."