Meat Prices Once Again Becoming Affordable?
After months of consistently increasing prices due to intense inflation, meat prices are finally going down.
Grocery items have been heavily affected by rising inflation. On top of heightened inflation rates, gas and fuel costs have made it more expensive to import food products worldwide, skyrocketing their value in the supermarkets. Meat prices have not been able to evade the price climb, with proteins such as beef and chicken getting exorbitantly more pricy as the pandemic rages on. For steak consumers, there’s a surprising light at the end of the tunnel.
Supermarkets nationwide are selling beef at discounted rates due to falling demand. Meat prices for cuts like ribeye and New York Strip are less costly as of late, following a shift in customer preferences. When steak and other proteins were unfathomably expensive, many deviated from adding those products to their shopping carts. Now that people have transferred their demand to other meat or meat substitutes, steak prices are dropping accordingly.
Back in March, meat prices were higher than ever. Average families wanting to buy pork and beef were shocked by their expansiveness, jumping more than 14% and 20% in price from 2021. High demand, supply chain interruptions, pandemic issues, and inflation compounded to make meat considerably more expensive at the grocery store. As demand has shifted in the last couple of months, so have general beef costs. For those wanting to grill up a specific cut of steak, this could be the perfect chance to snag a deal at your local supermarket.
Though meat prices generally remain high across the board, four popular steak cuts have experienced significant price reductions. Ribeye, beef loin, brisket, and New York strip steak are all less expensive than they were even a month ago. Ribeye and beef loin are down more than 10% from August 7th prices, while brisket has decreased by 18%. New York strip steak has similarly reduced in price, but the figure remains unknown currently. Though these four steak cuts are dropping in price, other types like ground beef increased by 7% over the past month.
Experts believe that this price deflation might not carry on throughout the year. Though meat prices are down for some steak cuts, their cost could change rapidly due to inflation, understaffing, and supply chain interruptions. Some note that staffing at meat factories has improved since last year, but their processing capacity is highly limited. An almost understaffed industry has led meat packing companies to walk a tightrope between fulfilling shipments and collapsing completely. Anything from another inflation hike to a new contagious COVID variant could suddenly offset meat prices’ affordability.
Drought conditions have also affected farms nationwide, which could catalyze another uptick in meat prices. Droughts on the west coast have prompted ranchers to decrease the size of their cattle herds. Ranchers are initiating this reduction to ensure that beef supplies are being shipped out, but this is only a short-term solution. If demand picks up, the limited supply of beef could stunt the market and push prices back up.
In this economic time period, price fluctuation is inevitable. Meat prices’ current reduction is great for carnivores nationwide, but those prices may jump back up as quickly as they decreased.
