Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia -The United States (US) is now dizzy with the skyrocketing price of meat in the country. It’s not just pork that was previously the focus of price increases, but all meat.
The latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that beef and veal prices increased by 20.1% between October 2020 and October 2021. This far outpaced the increase in pork prices, which were 14.1% more expensive today than last year.
The price of chicken meat also rose 8.8%, fresh fish. Not to mention seafood, which was up 11% and eggs, which was up 11.6%.
“Meat is our main ingredient,” says BBQ entrepreneur in South Carolina, Rodney Scott CNN International, Friday (11/19/202).
“All protein prices are going up and this is affecting business.”
Quoted from CNBC International, Friday (11/19/2021), there are many factors causing the increase in beef prices. One of them can be traced back to 2020, when Covid-19 shut down production plants and crippled national meat production capabilities.
The slowdown left farmers with nowhere to send their beef. This resulted in them culling cows and other livestock.
With uncertainty about the future, farmers reduce their production at that time. This reduction could affect production over a year to a year and a half into the future.
At the same time, processing facilities are tackling a labor shortage that is reducing their capacity to process meat at the same time as before the pandemic. This decline in production occurred due to the increasing demand for beef from consumers and restaurants, forcing prices to be higher.
The White House itself released a brief acknowledgment that US President Joe Biden understood that US families had faced higher prices at the grocery store. While the report acknowledges supply and demand problems as a factor driving prices up, the four major US conglomerates, which control 82% of national beef production compared to 25% in 1977, are also to blame.
The lack of competition has resulted in prices skyrocketing and even recording profits for themselves. The Biden government has promised to enforce anti-monopoly laws to combat anti-competitive practices in the meat industry.
“This record profit and dividend payout comes at a time when consumers are paying more to put food on the table, workers are risking their health and safety to feed America,” the report said.
“Farmers and ranchers are also facing unprecedented droughts, wildfire events and other extreme weather conditions that endanger their livestock and livestock.”
Meanwhile, soaring meat has made some analysts worry about the poor. They are believed to be unable to access the protein.
(tfa/sef)
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