A predicted upswing in supply of beef, poultry and pork this year means tougher competition among meat producers, leading to lower prices for consumers, analysts say.
Ranchers are continuing to regrow cattle herds after a drought about six years ago shrunk the industry, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report. Export bans on poultry products have meant a flooded U.S. chicken and turkey market, and an influx of pork imports from Canada, along with record-high hog litter rates, also will help increase supply, according to the same report.
Travis Justice, chief economist at the Arkansas Farm Bureau, said this will drag down prices at grocery stores and in restaurants.
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