SecProbe.io

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                             Sonoco Products Company
                             One North Second Street
                               Post Office Box 160
                      Hartsville, South Carolina 29551-0160

                                  May 12, 2008

Ms. Tia Jenkins
Senior Assistant Chief Accountant
Office of Beverages, Apparel and Healthcare Services
Division of Corporation Finance
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20549-3561

Re:      Sonoco Products Company
         Form 10-K for Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2007
         Filed February 28, 2008
         File No.  000-00516

Dear Ms. Jenkins:

         This  letter is in  response  to your  April 18,  2008  comment  letter
addressed to Harris E.  DeLoach,  Jr.,  President and Chief  Executive  Officer,
Sonoco Products Company regarding the filing referenced above.

Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2007

Note 3. Restructuring and Asset Impairment, page F-7

COMMENT:

1.       We note that you recognized  restructuring  charges related to the 2006
         plan of $16.8 million  during the year ended December 31, 2007. We also
         note  that you  expect to  recognize  future  additional  costs of $2.8
         million for the 2006 restructuring plan. Tell us how you determined the
         period in which the liability will be recognized  using the guidance of
         SFAS 146 paragraph 3.

RESPONSE:

         The 2006 Plan  called  for the  closure of 12 plant  locations  and the
         reduction of  approximately  540 positions  worldwide.  These  measures
         began in October 2006.  Total costs  incurred  under the 2006 Plan from
         its  inception  through  the end of 2007 were $34.3  million,  of which
         $17.5 million was  recognized  in 2006 and $16.8  million in 2007.  The
         measures were substantially  complete by the end of 2007;  however,  we

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Ms. Tia Jenkins
May 12, 2008
Page 2

         estimated  that there were  approximately  $2.8 million of future costs
         remaining  to be  recognized  as of December 31,  2007.  The  remaining
         costs,  which were described in our Form 10-K as consisting  "primarily
         of severance and termination  benefits,"  included  approximately  $1.7
         million for  severance  and  termination  benefits and $1.1 million for
         other exit costs.

         The  timing  of the  recognition  of exit and  disposal  related  costs
         associated  with  the 2006  Plan was  based  upon the  recognition  and
         measurement  provisions  found in paragraphs 3 through 17 of SFAS 146 -
         "Accounting  for Costs  Associated  with Exit or Disposal  Activities."
         Paragraph 3 of SFAS 146 states that "a liability for a cost  associated
         with an exit or disposal  activity  shall be recognized and measured at
         its fair  value in the  period in which  the  liability  is  incurred."
         Although  Sonoco's  commitment  to the 2006 Plan began in October 2006,
         the  criteria for  recognizing  the  liability  for all of the expected
         costs  had not  been met by the end of  2006.  Paragraph  4 of SFAS 146
         states that "An exit or  disposal  plan,  by itself,  does not create a
         present  obligation to others for costs  expected to be incurred  under
         the plan; thus, an entity's  commitment to an exit or disposal plan, by
         itself,  is not the requisite past transaction or event for recognition
         of a liability." In addition, paragraph 12 of SFAS 146, which addresses
         the issue of one-time termination  benefits,  states that "If employees
         are not required to render  service until they are  terminated in order
         to receive benefits...a liability for the termination benefits shall be
         recognized and measured at its fair value at the  communication  date."
         These concepts were applied in our  determination of the liabilities to
         be recognized in 2006, 2007, and beyond.

         The  2006  Plan  anticipated  that the  plant  closures  and  workforce
         reductions  would begin in 2006 and would be largely  completed  by the
         end of 2007.  By  December  31,  2006,  communication  to the  affected
         employees had occurred at only some of the plants.  Accordingly, of the
         $17.5  million of total charges  recognized in 2006,  $10.0 million was
         for severance  and other  termination  benefits for those  employees to
         whom  communication  had  taken  place  and for whom a  future  service
         requirement  was not  required  in order  to  receive  the  termination
         benefits  (or were not to be  retained  to render  service  beyond  the
         minimum  retention  period).  Other  exit  costs of $2.3  million  were
         recognized  for those  items  where  there was a  "present  obligation"
         meeting  the  definition  of a  liability  under  paragraph  35 of FASB
         Concepts  Statement  no. 6,  "Elements  of  Financial  Statements."  In
         addition,  non-cash asset impairment charges totaling $5.2 million were
         recognized in the fourth  quarter of 2006.  These charges were based on
         applying the  provisions of paragraph 34 of SFAS 144,  "Accounting  for
         the  Impairment  or Disposal of Long-Lived  Assets," to the  long-lived
         assets (principally machinery and equipment, and buildings) affected by
         the planned plant closures.

         During 2007, communication took place to all but a few of the remaining
         employees  to be  affected  by the 2006 Plan.  Accordingly,  additional
         charges for severance and  termination  benefits  totaling $9.9 million
         were  recognized  in 2007.  Additional  charges  for other  exit  costs
         totaling $5.9 million were also recognized in 2007 upon the liabilities
         becoming   present   obligations  of  the  Company.   Additional  asset
         impairments  resulted in net charges of $1.0 million during 2007. These
         net  charges  included  the  write  off of  $1.9  million  of  goodwill
         associated  with  the sale of a rigid  packaging  business  in  Germany

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Ms. Tia Jenkins
May 12, 2008
Page 3

         following the guidance found in paragraph 39 of SFAS 142, "Goodwill and
         Other  Intangible  Assets."  When the 2006 Plan was  initiated,  it was
         anticipated  that this rigid packaging  facility would be closed,  with
         the business and production lines transferred to other Sonoco locations
         in France  and the  United  Kingdom.  In 2007,  the  decision  was made
         instead to sell the business; accordingly, the goodwill associated with
         the business  was written  off.  Favorable  adjustments  totaling  $0.9
         million  were  recorded in 2007  related to assets at our paper mill in
         Marquette,  France for which impairment  charges had been recognized in
         2006.    These   favorable    adjustments    stemmed   from   realizing
         greater-than-expected  proceeds on the sale of assets at this location.
         Our treatment  followed  paragraph 37 of SFAS 144, which states "a gain
         or loss  not  previously  recognized  that  results  from the sale of a
         long-lived asset shall be recognized at the date of sale."

         As noted above,  we estimated  that at December 31, 2007, an additional
         $2.8 million of future  charges would be incurred  under the 2006 Plan.
         Approximately  $1.7 million of this amount is related to severance  and
         termination  benefits  for the planned  reduction  of several  European
         administrative  positions.  As of December 31, 2007,  communication had
         not been made to these  employees;  accordingly,  the key criterion for
         recognizing the liability under SFAS 146 had not been met.  Recognition
         of the  liability  is  expected  to occur  before  the end of 2008 upon
         completion  of  process  improvement   initiatives  currently  underway
         connected  to  the  restructuring  plan.  The  remaining  $1.1  million
         consisted  of other exit costs.  These costs relate to plants that have
         already  ceased  operations,  but  are  expected  to  incur  additional
         non-operational  costs before the closures are  completed.  A liability
         for these expected costs was not recognized as of December 31, 2007, as
         the expected costs did not represent a "present obligation" meeting the
         definition of a liability under paragraph 35 of FASB Concepts Statement
         No. 6. However,  it is expected that the substantial  majority of these
         expected costs will be recognized during 2008.

The Company acknowledges that:

     o    The  Company is  responsible  for the  adequacy  and  accuracy  of the
          disclosure in the filing;
     o    Staff  comments or changes to disclosure in response to staff comments
          do not foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to
          the filing; and
     o    The  Company  may  not  assert  staff  comments  as a  defense  in any
          proceeding initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal
          securities laws of the United States.

I trust the foregoing addresses your question concerning the Company's Form 10-K
filing for the year ended  December 31, 2007.  Please let me know if you require
any further information.

                                                 Sincerely,

                                                 /s/Charles J. Hupfer
                                                 -------------------------------
                                                 Charles J. Hupfer
                                                 Senior Vice President and
                                                 Chief Financial Officer

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