(Bloomberg) -- When Americans feel like they’ve got more money, they like to treat themselves. That means there could be plenty of steaks on the grill this year for Labor Day.
A buzzing economy and low U.S. unemployment is a boon for beef, typically considered a premium meat. Gains for the cattle herd means retail prices have fallen. Combine that with grocer discounts for the holiday, and steaks and burgers could be the cheapest they’ve been in years, attracting demand.
Meanwhile, other meats are in the doldrums. There are record supplies of chicken and pork in the U.S., and even with prices at multiyear lows, it’s more than most people care to eat. Companies including Tyson Foods Inc. and Sanderson Farms Inc. have recently said that bargains on beef were hurting poultry.
“Margins for retailers are great, and consumers are back into beef now that prices are better,” said Will Sawyer, an economist at Greenwood Village, Colorado-based CoBank. “Chicken, which had been the recession special for so long, is having to take a back seat to the more pricey protein.”
https://www.bloombergquint.com/onwe...eaks-for-labor-day-as-economy-hums#gs.t0ide6I
A buzzing economy and low U.S. unemployment is a boon for beef, typically considered a premium meat. Gains for the cattle herd means retail prices have fallen. Combine that with grocer discounts for the holiday, and steaks and burgers could be the cheapest they’ve been in years, attracting demand.
Meanwhile, other meats are in the doldrums. There are record supplies of chicken and pork in the U.S., and even with prices at multiyear lows, it’s more than most people care to eat. Companies including Tyson Foods Inc. and Sanderson Farms Inc. have recently said that bargains on beef were hurting poultry.
“Margins for retailers are great, and consumers are back into beef now that prices are better,” said Will Sawyer, an economist at Greenwood Village, Colorado-based CoBank. “Chicken, which had been the recession special for so long, is having to take a back seat to the more pricey protein.”
https://www.bloombergquint.com/onwe...eaks-for-labor-day-as-economy-hums#gs.t0ide6I
