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Farm Bureau: Increased beef imports haven’t lowered consumer prices

The American Farm Bureau Federation says President Trump’s action to increase beef imports has yet to provide meaningful savings for consumers.

AFBF economist Faith Parum tells Brownfield they’ve been tracking ground beef prices since September 2^nd.

“Our average price of 41 grocery stores started at about $7.29. We’re only down to $7.13. A small decrease, but not near the 25% reduction in tariffs we saw.”

She says the underlying issues driving beef prices can’t be addressed through a temporary fix.

“There is a lot that goes on in the supply chain,” Parum said. “It takes a long time to get a product from one place to the other. So just bringing in more beef to the supply equation doesn’t necessarily mean that brings prices down for consumers.”

Parum says the president’s proclamation is having a negative impact on cattle producers.

“In fact, on average, ranchers are losing anywhere from $300 to $400 per head,” she said. “It’s not helping the consumer and it’s really hurting our ranchers who are already going through a struggle with a record low cattle herd size, so it’s really not incentivizing them to rebuild the herd either.”

Parum says AFBF is calling for the proclamation to be rolled back, giving ranchers the opportunity to respond to free market signals and reduced regulatory burdens to rebuild the nation’s cattle supply.

Faith Parum: