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Page added on April 16, 2014
Soaring Food Inflation Full Frontal: Beef, Pork And Shrimp Prices Soar To Record Highs
We previously noted that both beef and pork (courtesy of the affectionately named Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus) prices have been reaching new all time highs on an almost daily basis. It is time to update the chart. Below we show what a world in which the Fed is constantly lamenting the lack of inflation looks like for beef prices…
… pork
… and shrimp.
More from Bloomberg:
Prices for shrimp have jumped to a 14-year high in recent months, spurred by a disease that’s ravaging the crustacean’s population. At Noodles & Co., a chain with locations across the country, it costs 29 percent more to add the shellfish to pastas this year, and shrimp-heavy dishes at places like the Cheesecake Factory Inc. are going up as well.
Restaurant chains, already struggling with shaky U.S. consumer confidence, are taking a profit hit as prices climb. Even worse, the surge is happening during the season of Lent, when eateries rely on seafood to lure Christian diners who abstain from chicken, beef and pork on certain days.
“It’s coming at a tough time for the industry,” said Andrew Barish, a San Francisco-based analyst at Jefferies LLC. “With the Lenten season, what you’ll see out there is a lot of promotions with seafood, and usually shrimp is a big part of that.”
In March, shrimp prices jumped 61 percent from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The climb is mainly due to a bacterial disease known as early mortality syndrome. While the ailment has no effect on humans, it’s wreaking havoc on young shrimp farmed in Southeast Asia, shrinking supplies.
***
James Johnson, a Jewel-Osco supermarket shopper in Chicago, has noticed the price increase. He’s been cutting back on one of his favorite dishes — shrimp and potato soup — because of the cost.
“I haven’t made it in a while,” the 29-year-old said. “Shrimp looks expensive.”
***
At Noodles, it now costs $3.34 to add the shellfish to a meal of pasta or pad thai, compared with $2.59 last year.
“We still want to at least offer it as choice,” Chief Executive Officer Kevin Reddy said in a phone interview. “As soon as the costs begin to normalize, we’ll return to the regular price.”
Ah yes, because retailers are always so willing to lower costs…
So for all those whose sustenance includes iPads and LCD TVs, or heaven forbid the pink slime known as fast food – you are in luck: the BLS’ hedonic adjustments mean the rate of price increase in your daily consumption has rarely been lower. For everyone else: our condolences.
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Update: Eggs too.
14 Comments on "Soaring Food Inflation Full Frontal: Beef, Pork And Shrimp Prices Soar To Record Highs"
Makati1 on Wed, 16th Apr 2014 2:51 am
Good! I think prices should double again this year and again next until the market is gone. The world cannot support 7+ billion people AND over 1 billion cattle (which require the water and calories equal to ~3 billion people) just to end up on the tables of rich people. It will be good for them to have to cut back and go without.
Manila prices today:
Sirloin steak = $4.95 lb. (Australian)
Ground beef = $3.49 lb. (Aust.)
Eggs: XL size, 1 dozen = $1.59 (Native)
Boat on Wed, 16th Apr 2014 2:59 am
Prices will always be cheap food and energy if your rich. This is why there is no problem.
DC on Wed, 16th Apr 2014 6:16 am
I dont always care for Zero-IQs dodgy articles, but I do love their closing comments-spot on!
“So for all those whose sustenance includes iPads and LCD TVs, or heaven forbid the pink slime known as fast food – you are in luck: the BLS’ hedonic adjustments mean the rate of price increase in your daily consumption has rarely been lower. For everyone else: our condolences.”
Davy, Hermann, MO on Wed, 16th Apr 2014 11:20 am
MAK, you don’t understand agriculture. Cattle will be needed more than ever but the manner in which they are raised will have to change. They will have to be pastured on land that is rotationally grazed and land that can support them with the available water resources. Gone will be the feed lots. Cattle did not evolve to eat grain. It creates all kinds of health problems. Significant amounts of land intensively farmed currently for grains should be grazed instead. Much row crop land is marginal and should instead be pasture. Pasture land can be quickly restored to health in as little as a few years by rotational grazing. If you have a small herd of cattle moving from paddock to paddock daily the cattle actually improve the grass health. The Cattle and grass have a symbiotic relationship. I foresee a return of the buffalo on the Great Plains. Vast areas of the Great Plains are better for migrational herds of buffalo then settlements and crops. As the areas of the Great Plains diminish in population in the energy decent buffalo will return. Food costs as a percentage of income will steadily increase. This will be also felt by shortages and unavailability of certain foods. This will allow local food production to be more economical. Currently local production struggles with the mass produced alternatives one can buy at Walmart. Walmart veggies and fruit have little taste but they are available year round and cheap in relation. As the energy and economic decent gathers speed gardens and small local operations will gain strength. Let us hope the decent is mild at least initially. I feel AGW will make all farming marginal in 20 years but initially I hope a transition can be made to local and more spiritually complete farming.
Norm on Wed, 16th Apr 2014 11:42 am
Is this cause they killed off all the shrimp, with the BP oil spill ?? Loving how if you are the little guy, spill some oil in your backyard go to jail. but if you are BP, destroy entire ecosystems and get billions of government subsidies for your monopoly.
Makati1 on Wed, 16th Apr 2014 11:44 am
There is no way to raise anywhere near the quantity of cattle we do today (over 1 billion world wide)without grains. The grazing land’s climates are too irregular and will be even more so in the future as climates shift north. Not to mention that many thousands of square miles of good grazing land has been and is being destroyed by our poor use and modern methods.
True, no one can be sure what climate change will eventually mean, but most articles agree that the US is due to turn dry and the grain belt to move north with the warmer temps. If even half of the predictions come true, by 2050, there may not be much farmable land in the lower 48. I hope that is not so as I do have kids and grand kids that will need to survive there, but it seems likely. Guess we will have to wait and see.
BTW: If you are not using heirloom seeds that breed true, and saving the seeds, you will find your future in the hands of Monsanto and his buddies. That is their plan.
Davy, Hermann, MO on Wed, 16th Apr 2014 11:45 am
Norm much of the shrimp anymore is coming from Asia. I will not eat Asian shrimp because of the toxicity. Unfortunately US shrimp is becoming toxic also. I recommend not eating much shrimp for these reasons.
Davy, Hermann, MO on Wed, 16th Apr 2014 11:49 am
Mak, you have never raised cattle so not sure where you base your predictions. Cattle farming is set to increase greatly. This is especially true in the US as AGW gains strength. Many row crop areas will be marginal so cattle will be economic on lands that return to native grasses adapted to low moisture situations. Google native grasses MAK! Cattle number will drop world wide but increase in proportion to row crop production.
Charlie Bucket on Wed, 16th Apr 2014 1:02 pm
There is absolutely no reason you HAVE to eat beef! It is a total luxury and wildly destructive to the planet!
Pops on Wed, 16th Apr 2014 1:12 pm
Back in the day meat was flavoring for your beans and dumplins. That slogan about ‘2 chickens in every pot’? they were referring to 2 chickens in every pot – on Sunday.
Protein prices are high as a direct result of ethanol production and the drought that increased feed costs and caused a big selloff in herds a couple of years ago.
You can make a boneless chicken breast in 39 days but a dairy cow or feedlot steer takes longer.
ghung on Wed, 16th Apr 2014 1:54 pm
Meat goats (Kikos) are in our plan for the near future. They can be raised and finished on marginal scrubby land and will clean up invasive plant species. Demand is also increasing in the US, mainly due to demographic changes. They are also lower maintenance than cows or sheep.
DC on Wed, 16th Apr 2014 4:41 pm
I vote for goats!
Makati1 on Thu, 17th Apr 2014 1:52 am
Davy, I hope you have an army to protect your herd … you will need it. Big target when the SHTF. And not very portable.
As for where I get my info. Maybe 70 years of living in this world? Maybe statistics? Maybe common sense? After all, I don’t have my future tied up in any one field.(pardon the pun) I can see beyond wishes and dreams. You sound like, because you are committed to beef farming, that it is going to be the way to go. I hope so for your sake, but you sound like the techies who cannot see any negatives.
Roman on Fri, 18th Apr 2014 1:14 am
With water harvesting, air wells, and permaculture earth could be a paradise sustaining >8 billion. But no, they chose a dog eat dog rat race that leads to extinction. I guess a chihuahua and a corvette are better than progeny.