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Demand for some proteins continues to surge
A livestock economist says domestic demand for pork has surged during the pandemic.
University of Missouri livestock economist Scott Brown says that was evident in the USDA’s latest Cold Storage numbers. “Pork ending stocks have continued to get a lot tighter,” he says. “Look at total freezer stocks at the end of December, just a little over 400 million pounds on the pork side. Frankly that’s amazing considering the production levels that we’ve had that we aren’t seeing any kind of build-up of pork stocks.”
But, he tells Brownfield pork hasn’t been the only protein in high demand during the pandemic. “Chicken wing endings stocks are also well below 2019, so chicken wings might be a little harder to come by for your Super Bowl party.”
Demand for beef however has slowed some with the ending stock about 11 percent above year-ago levels.
