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Strong beef demand expected to continue
Even through the height of the pandemic, US beef remained a rockstar at the meat case and an ag economist doesn’t expect that to change anytime soon. Oklahoma State University’s Derrell Peel says part of that demand bump was due to federal stimulus dollars.
“But, what we’re seeing now is that we’ve really adjusted wage rates up in this country, generally speaking,” he says. “So consumers still have more money and we’re seeing that reflected in strong beef demand.”
He says even with higher beef prices there hasn’t been increased competition at the meat case from other proteins. “Beef has kind of marched alone here in terms of stronger prices,” he says. “It’s certainly held its share and we frankly haven’t talked a lot about the competition on the beef side from pork and poultry. We’ve had a lot more issues in terms of the product mix.”
And while Peel doesn’t anticipate any huge drop-offs in domestic demand this year, he is keeping a close eye on inflationary pressures from the broader economy. “That’s going to potentially impact consumer decisions, particularly with things like higher gas prices that take money out of their wallets on a week-to-week basis.”
AUDIO: Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University
