pork prices are set to rise sharply!!!

There is going to be a shortage of ribs this summer according to my supplier. Also, brisket prices are going to drop sharply in about 2-3 weeks.

Mike

One has to wonder if they publicize this kind of thing just to get the public to go out and stock up on pork.

Not a publicity stunt at all. Pork producers lost the shirts off their backs last year due to combination of high feed prices, and oversized herds. Due to this, the hog producers have reduced their herd size, so now there are fewer hogs and the same demand. I work hand in hand with one of the largest pork producers in the country, and they are expecting bacon to be in the $3.50 to $4.00 a lb range this summer.

How much is bacon now?

Man and I just learned how to cook butts! Actually, I told my wife that in Jan and Feb that I thought pork prices were artifically low. Now this is only in my little corner of the world and does not represent even the greater Atlanta market much less the USA. But I had noticed that in all the stores that I frequent (Kroger, Publix, Ingles, Wilkes Meat Market, Wally World) that pork was selling for only a few quarters per lb more than chicken! Accept for one thing. I have been looking for smoked cured hams and raw butts and can't find them. Yes, you can find the smoked hams but not the ones that cook red and are salty. They use to sell those dirt cheap. Not any more. Found some in St. Maartens last year at Christmas fo about $4/lb. My guess is that they are exporting all of those to European countries probably as high end speciality items. Shipping adds a lot of cost. But even now at Easter I have had trouble finding butts. None of the stores are carrying more than 5 or 6 at a time. And the price over the past 8 weeks has climbed. In fact I bought two butts last fall at Wally World and the price was around $0.98/lb. When I bought the butts last week I checked again and they were about $1.68/lb. Huge increase in price. I found them cheaper at Kroger's. I think supply is already a problem.

Chicken has gone up as well. Kroger, with all of its faults, still remains the best place to buy meat in my little corner of the world. Chicken has gone up though over the past 8 weeks from selling regulary for $0.69/lb. to a whopping $1.19/lb! For thighs! I almost had a heart attack. Chicken is the go to meat for a lot of families so I really hate to see this one happen.

So what will we do? Most of us will just grumble and pay the increased price. We will get use to it and then not think much of it. That is the way it is in the commodity business. However some of use will retract from the market. That would be me. I will only buy one butt at a time and cook it. I will not take food into work anymore, that started last night. Can't afford to feed my friends at work due to the increased costs of production. I even cut back on the amount of meat I am using in my favorite recipes. I will only use 5 drum sticks in my chicken brunswick stew instead of the entire package of 15. I made 3 meals out of the chicken package that I only used for one. I will not buy the $12.98/lb ribeyes anymore that are almost two inches thick. My wife threw half of hers away anyway. Now she gets the thin one when she is in the mood for steak. We both prefer hamburger anyway. And hot dogs too. Ribs will be a hit and miss purchase.

You can still eat great food cooked on the BGE and be cost aware. This is cyclic and will soon shift again.