Will Retail Pork and Beef Prices Continue to Rise in May?
USDA Economic Research Service released the April meat price spread data on May 12. The data reports monthly prices along the marketing chain from the farm to retail levels for beef, pork, poultry and dairy.
Retail pork prices set an all-time high in April at $4.32 per pound, up $0.16 per pound or 3.8% from March, and $0.43 per pound or 11% higher than last year. The price of bacon rose $0.87 per pound or 16.3% over last year to $6.22 per pound, but is still below the record highs of $6.24 and $6.36 per pound in August and September of 2017, respectively, noted Steiner Consulting Group of Merrimack, N.H., in the May 14 Daily Livestock Report. Boneless pork chops rose $0.31 per pound or 7.8% from last year to $4.33 per pound, the highest price since September 2020.
On the beef side, retail prices for Choice beef reached $6.76 per pound in April, up $0.27 or 4.2% from March and $0.31 or 4.8% above last year.
With the exception of the pandemic highs seen between May 2020 through July 2020, Steiner Consulting noted that last month’s retail beef price would be the highest on record.
Lean and extra lean ground beef prices rose to $5.97 per pound in April, which is 4.6% above last year but still below the record high of $6.31 per pound set in June 2020. Boneless Choice steak rounds increased 3.6% or $0.23 over last year to $6.64 per pound. Boneless Choice sirloin steaks were 8.7% higher or $0.74 per pound higher than a year ago, reaching $9.34 per pound and the highest price since July 2020.
Chicken retail prices started the year at $1.60 per pound but have fallen each month with April at $1.52 per pound, down $0.03 or 1.8% from last month and $0.05 or 3.6% lower than last year. Since the start of the year, chicken prices have fallen $0.08 per pound or 5%, hitting the lowest level since March 2020. The boneless chicken breast price was $3.41 per pound which rose 7.9% from last year and was the highest price since November 2020. Bone-in chicken legs fell 1.2% from a year ago to $1.58 per pound.
Steiner Consulting raised the question: With retail prices rising for both beef and pork in the month of April, will prices rise again in May?
The report showed for the week ending May 7, the Choice beef cutout value was $303.51 per hundredweight (cwt) which is the highest value in nearly a year, suggesting retail beef prices could likely climb higher in May if the cutout remains at or above $300 per cwt, Steiner Consulting said.
During the same week ending May 7, the pork cutout value was $112.48 per cwt which is slightly higher than the monthly average value of $111.17 per cwt in April and given the tight hog supplies, Steiner Consulting believes this could support higher retail pork prices in May.
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