Missouri economist: Americans want beef, despite rising cost

(Missourinet) – Beef prices are up 10-percent this year, but Missouri economist Bob Maltsbarger says that doesn’t seem to be slowing demand.

“We are at 50-60 year lows for beef cow inventories and what that means is we’ve got tighter supplies on the beef front. At the same time, the last few years, consumers have kind of surprised us and the per capita demand for beef has remained high, especially during this year’s grilling season between Memorial Day and Labor Day.”

He says normally, consumers would buy cheaper proteins under these circumstances, but says there’s been no pull-back nationally this year. He cites basic economics for the higher prices, -very low cattle inventory along with strong demand. He notes while overall inflation has cooled a bit, beef prices are expected to be higher again next year.

Maltsbarger is with the University of Missouri’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute.