The markets are working through a lot of volatility right now, but that pressure is not affecting beef demand.
NCBA says consumers are still buying anything they can.
""Consumers have stuck with us. Record sales this past year of over 40 billion, with a B, in beef sales, which is over half or about 55 percent of beef accounts for total fresh meat, and about six billion in pounds in terms of volume of sales, so not quite a record. We’ve had a little bit more volume sales in the past, but still pretty remarkable numbers, so consumers have stuck with us,” said Mike Simone.
The ag industry has seen its share of ups and downs over the last year. This was an outcome they were not expecting, but Simone says it is full speed ahead.
“By and large, consumers, when they rate the proteins, beef tends to be top by and far, by 57-60 percent typically. Most of the time, a good 20-plus points higher than chicken in terms of those rankings, so I think that’s a major influence - consumers are buying with their taste buds. To begin with, price is important, but they all have that experience. It’s irreplaceable and comfortable, and consumers know that, and they appreciate that and the quality of the beef is just that much better than it was 20-30 years ago, and consumers know that. They appreciate that. They continue to open their wallets and buy our product.”
On the other side of proteins, chicken has done well with sales, but Simone says that boils down to price.
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