News
Red meat, poultry stocks tighten
Strong consumer and export demand continue to draw down supplies of beef, pork, and poultry, canceling out increases in production.
The USDA says there were 940.631 million pounds of red meat in cold storage at the end of April, a decline of 3% from the end of March and 17% from the end of April 2020. That included 453.616 million pounds of beef, 5% below last year, and 455.252 million pounds of pork, a drop of 26% on the year. The USDA says bone-in hams supplies were at record monthly lows.
Poultry in cold storage was 1.089 billion pounds, slightly less than the previous month and a decrease of 20% from a year ago. Chicken was reported at 723.834 million pounds, 22% under last year, and turkey totaled 362.587 million pounds, down 13%. Chicken paws and feet were at all-time highs for the month, but turkey legs and mechanically deboned meat were at record lows.
The USDA recently reported record monthly red meat production during April and a 3% year to year increase in monthly poultry production.
The USDA’s next set of supply and demand estimates is out June 10th.
