General Mills Declares 9 Percent Dividend Increase

MINNEAPOLIS--(Business Wire)--
The General Mills Board of Directors today declared a 4-cent increase in the
quarterly dividend rate to $0.47 per share, payable Aug. 3, 2009, to
shareholders of record July 10, 2009. The new annualized dividend rate of $1.88
per share represents a 9 percent increase over dividends of $1.72 per share paid
in fiscal 2009.

"Strong and growing cash dividends are an important component of General Mills`
total return to our shareholders," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ken
Powell. "The 9 percent dividend increase announced today is a reflection of our
company`s robust financial condition and excellent future growth prospects."
General Mills (NYSE: GIS) and its predecessor firm have now paid shareholder
dividends without interruption or reduction for 110 years.

Based on the June 29 closing price of $55.84 for General Mills common shares,
the new annualized dividend rate of $1.88 represents a yield of 3.4 percent.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on management`s
current expectations and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are
subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from the potential results discussed in the forward-looking
statements. In particular, our predictions about future net sales and earnings
could be affected by a variety of factors, including: competitive dynamics in
the consumer foods industry and the markets for our products, including new
product introductions, advertising activities, pricing actions and promotional
activities of our competitors; economic conditions, including changes in
inflation rates, interest rates, tax rates or the availability of capital;
product development and innovation; consumer acceptance of new products and
product improvements; consumer reaction to pricing actions and changes in
promotion levels; acquisitions or dispositions of businesses or assets; changes
in capital structure; changes in laws and regulations, including labeling and
advertising regulations; impairments in the carrying value of goodwill, other
intangible assets, or other long-lived assets, or changes in the useful lives of
other intangible assets; changes in accounting standards and the impact of
significant accounting estimates; product quality and safety issues, including
recalls and product liability; changes in consumer demand for our products;
effectiveness of advertising, marketing and promotional programs; changes in
consumer behavior, trends and preferences, including weight loss trends;
consumer perception of health-related issues, including obesity; consolidation
in the retail environment; changes in purchasing and inventory levels of
significant customers; fluctuations in the cost and availability of supply chain
resources, including raw materials, packaging and energy; disruptions or
inefficiencies in the supply chain; volatility in the market value of
derivatives used to hedge price risk for certain commodities; benefit plan
expenses due to changes in plan asset values and discount rates used to
determine plan liabilities; failure of our information technology systems;
resolution of uncertain income tax matters; foreign economic conditions,
including currency rate fluctuations; and political unrest in foreign markets
and economic uncertainty due to terrorism or war. The company undertakes no
obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statements to reflect any
future events or circumstances.

General Mills
Analysts
Kris Wenker, 763-764-2607
or
Media
Kirstie Foster, 763-764-6364

Copyright Business Wire 2009