The late timing of Easter this year is having an impact on meat sales.
Easter is considered the third-biggest meat holiday behind Christmas and Thanksgiving. The holiday is three weeks later than last year, which is impacting year-over-year data.
While dollar sales grew due to inflation, pounds purchased dropped by more than 4%. That was driven by processed meat declines, which include smoked ham.
While March was negatively impacted by the holiday’s late timing, April sales are expected to receive a boost.
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“Those could’ve easily been our beans going over there. It goes to show that if that opportunity is there, China would be willing to buy.”
Missouri Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn joined us Monday to share highlights from Secretary Brooke Rollins’ visit and her perspective on USDA’s new initiatives.