US grill masters and home chefs are facing high beef prices for summer cookouts due to drought and wildfires that have discouraged ranchers from expanding cattle supplies, which are at their lowest levels in 75 years.
Record-High Beef Prices
The record-high beef prices have strained the wallets of US consumers, with the average retail price of one pound of lean and extra lean ground beef hitting a record $8.62 in May, up more than 12% from a year earlier.
Ahead of Independence Day on July 4, a major holiday for grilling, the Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute estimated the cost of a summer barbecue for 10 people will rise by 2.4% from last year to $161, with hamburger beef up 14%.
President Donald Trump has encouraged low-tariff imports of Argentine beef to cool US prices, angering American ranchers, and directed the Department of Justice to investigate whether US meatpackers are colluding to raise prices.
Many ranchers have delayed rebuilding their herds due to a resurgence of dryness this spring and wildfires that ravaged more grazing land, forcing them to slash their herds and leading to tight supplies and high prices.
Facing a beef shortage, cooks can stretch their dollars by grilling chicken or pork instead, economists said.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
