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Rollins says temporary imports helping consumers at meat counter

Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins says President Trump’s temporary increase in imported ground beef supplies is helping lower prices for consumers.

“We have seen some relief,” Rollins said.

Speaking to reporters at a farm in Prairie City, Iowa on Tuesday, Rollins didn’t cite specific beef price data but said the president’s import directive is producing results.

“The EO actually says that the Secretary of Agriculture will be analyzing and reviewing,” Rollins said. “I will tell you that she certainly has, very closely, and advising the president and the White House on exactly what is happening.”

However, a recent American Farm Bureau Federation analysis found modest movement in retail ground beef prices following the import expansion. The group tracked prices at 41 grocery stores and found the average price declined from $7.29 to $7.13 per pound, a decrease of 16 cents.

Rollins says the 90-day action was designed to address near-term price pressures and is not intended to be a long-term strategy.

“To bring more of that lean beef in that normally we import anyway,” Rollins said. “That in fact could potentially help solve some of the cost of ground beef especially for our lower socioeconomic Americans.”

The 90-day policy is expected to expire at the end of November.