Tyson Foods revealed it had been surprised by the strength in demand for meat which has prompted a strong revival in cattle markets, and driven lean hog prices to a record high.

The US group, which rivals Brazil's JBS as the world's biggest meat group, said that it had predicted that the tighter protein supplies fostered by production cutbacks would "lead to stronger fundamentals".

However, "it happened sooner than expected", said Donnie Smith, the Tyson chief executive, as the group unveiled a return to the black for its second quarter, boosted by sharp price rises.

Beef and pork prices, which had fallen in the previous quarter, turned sharply upward, with pork jumping 15.0% in the latest period. Chicken prices accelerated their rise to 10.2%.

Grillings ahead 

The improvements drove group revenues 9.7% higher to $6.92bn for the three months to April 3, with earnings coming in at $159m in what has historically been a weak quarter. A year ago, the group fell $119m into the red.

"And… we think we'll do even better the second half of the fiscal year as our operational performance continues to improve," Mr Smith said.

"We are very pleased with how our third quarter is going, and the summer grilling season is just getting started."

While Tyson forecast a decline of 1% in cattle supplies over its fiscal year as the impact of previous herd reductions tells, with a fall in hog supplies set to accelerate over the summer, the group said it had access to "adequate" product.

Tyson shares closed down 2.0% at $18.24 in New York.