Cattle inventories have decreased in recent months to their lowest level since 1951. As a result, consumers paid an average of $4 a pound for 100 percent ground beef in August, up 55 cents from the same month in 2013, according to the Labor Departments Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sunshine Foods, which operates 14 stores in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota, has raised prices on 80 percent ground beef by $1 during the past year to $3.99 a pound. Darin Hill, who oversees meat purchases for the regional grocer, said consumers initially shifted their money to pork and chicken that were comparatively cheaper. While beef sales at Sunshine are down about 20 percent from September 2013, consumers have shown signs of reverting. People just kind of get adjusted to the pricing, Hill said. They always come back to beef. Meanwhile, the pork industry has been decimated by the fast-moving porcine epidemic diarrhea virus that has ravaged hog farms in 31 states, killing an estimated 8 million pigs, or about 10 percent of the U.S. herd. The reduction has pushed up prices for bacon, ham and other hog products.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 04:26:17 +0000
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