"But it's not that simple: The US cattle herd has shrunk in recent years to the smallest since the early 1950s because droughts and higher production costs, including elevated interest rates, have made raising the animals more expensive. While the cattle industry is cyclical, the current contraction has lasted longer than expected because there's a lot more money to be made selling animals for slaughter while very young rather than keeping them to expand herds."
"Beef costs have risen faster than most other items in the consumer price index, with the broad beef and veal category up 15% over the past year as of January. Uncooked ground beef reached a fresh record after soaring by the most since June 2020 in government data released Friday. The gains are a standout from the rest of the consumer grocery basket where things have broadly improved. Chicken prices rose only by 1.1% in the past 12 months, while milk was little changed."
US grocery beef prices have climbed sharply while overall grocery inflation has eased. The broad beef and veal category rose 15% year-over-year as of January, and uncooked ground beef hit a record after its largest surge since June 2020. Poultry and milk prices have been much calmer, with chicken up 1.1% and milk little changed. The White House authorized higher Argentinian beef import quotas and pushed for more competition in processing. Underlying supply issues include a cattle herd at its smallest since the early 1950s after droughts and higher production costs, and a prolonged contraction since ranchers are selling animals young rather than rebuilding herds.
Read at Fortune
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]