News

Red meat in cold storage rises as poultry shrinks

Demand differences for red meat and poultry showed up in the USDA’s latest cold storage update.

Red meat supplies at the end of August were up 8% on the year at 862.128 million pounds, including a 5% rise in beef to 407.115 million pounds and a 12% increase in pork to 436.268 million pounds, despite declining production for both during the month.

Poultry in cold storage was down 4% at 1.145 billion pounds, with a 5% decline for chicken to 749.919 million pounds and 2% dip in turkey to 394.013 million pounds, even as chicken and turkey production were up year-over-year in August.

The USDA’s next round of annual supply, demand, and production projections for red meat and poultry is out October 9^th.