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Currently we are seeing a rise in beef and pork pricing in the US, and I am curious whether this is a result of Trump's trade deals particularly with China.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ance-trade

http://www.nationalhogfarmer.com/market ... ket-growth

http://www.feedstuffs.com/markets/value ... outh-korea

If so, it is interesting to think about the results of Trump's deal-making trade policy for average Americans. It may be beneficial to American beef and pork growers, while resulting in higher retails for consumers.

All economic policy has winners and losers. Consumers believe the economy is doing well when prices are cheap. Producers believe it is doing well when prices are high. For the economy to really work well, so many different things have to be kept in tension. I don't think it is possible to be completely controlled even though governments and powerful groups and large companies try. Often controls make problems worse, but no controls cause another set of problems. And an entire economy probably can't be completely understood by anybody.

We haven't seen any rise in meat prices around here. In fact beef prices have fallen by about 40% from a month ago. Pork is about 10-15% cheaper.

The prices may be a regional phenomenon. We've also seen gasoline prices take a nose dive by .30-35 cents per gallon. My experience tells that the lower the gasoline prices, the lower the meat prices. Fuel for transport is a significant factor in taking these "little piggies to market". Unfortunately trucks don't run on pig squeals. I wish they did but you know what they say.

MaxPC wrote:We haven't seen any rise in meat prices around here. In fact beef prices have fallen by about 40% from a month ago. Pork is about 10-15% cheaper.

The prices may be a regional phenomenon. We've also seen gasoline prices take a nose dive by .30-35 cents per gallon. My experience tells that the lower the gasoline prices, the lower the meat prices. Fuel for transport is a significant factor in taking these "little piggies to market". Unfortunately trucks don't run on pig squeals. I wish they did but you know what they say.

The trend is pretty recent, in the past few weeks.

mike wrote:

MaxPC wrote:We haven't seen any rise in meat prices around here. In fact beef prices have fallen by about 40% from a month ago. Pork is about 10-15% cheaper.

The prices may be a regional phenomenon. We've also seen gasoline prices take a nose dive by .30-35 cents per gallon. My experience tells that the lower the gasoline prices, the lower the meat prices. Fuel for transport is a significant factor in taking these "little piggies to market". Unfortunately trucks don't run on pig squeals. I wish they did but you know what they say.

The trend is pretty recent, in the past few weeks.

As I mentioned, "In fact beef prices have fallen by about 40% from a month ago. Pork is about 10-15% cheaper".

My experience is that regions will vary in trends. Hopefully the falling prices will find your area too.

The USDA data suggests that, while wholesale beef prices were 25% higher in June 2017 compared with January 2017, retail prices have on average risen only a comparatively modest 8%.

MaxPC wrote:

mike wrote: The trend is pretty recent, in the past few weeks.

As I mentioned, "In fact beef prices have fallen by about 40% from a month ago. Pork is about 10-15% cheaper".

My experience is that regions will vary in trends. Hopefully the falling prices will find your area too.

What are you paying for ground beef in your area right now? How about for steaks or roasts?

ken_sylvania wrote:

MaxPC wrote:

mike wrote: The trend is pretty recent, in the past few weeks.

As I mentioned, "In fact beef prices have fallen by about 40% from a month ago. Pork is about 10-15% cheaper".

My experience is that regions will vary in trends. Hopefully the falling prices will find your area too.

What are you paying for ground beef in your area right now? How about for steaks or roasts?

When we picked up ground chuck yesterday, it was 1.39/lb. I noticed the ribeye steaks were only 7.99/lb. I didn't see the chuck roasts. Didn't buy the ribeye either. Pork loin chops were 2.19/lb but they weren't on sale. Ham was on sale but don't know the price. Yesterday we paid 1.89/gallon for gasoline. A month ago it was as high as 2.40/gal in this region.

MaxPC wrote:

ken_sylvania wrote:

MaxPC wrote: As I mentioned, "In fact beef prices have fallen by about 40% from a month ago. Pork is about 10-15% cheaper".

My experience is that regions will vary in trends. Hopefully the falling prices will find your area too.

What are you paying for ground beef in your area right now? How about for steaks or roasts?

When we picked up ground chuck yesterday, it was 1.39/lb. I noticed the ribeye steaks were only 7.99/lb. I didn't see the chuck roasts. Didn't buy the ribeye either. Pork loin chops were 2.19/lb but they weren't on sale. Ham was on sale but don't know the price. Yesterday we paid 1.89/gallon for gasoline. A month ago it was as high as 2.40/gal in this region.

That does sound like some reasonable prices (well, maybe not the ribeye steaks, I'm not sure I'd eat much steak at that price ).

mike wrote:Currently we are seeing a rise in beef and pork pricing in the US, and I am curious whether this is a result of Trump's trade deals particularly with China.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ance-trade

http://www.nationalhogfarmer.com/market ... ket-growth

http://www.feedstuffs.com/markets/value ... outh-korea

If so, it is interesting to think about the results of Trump's deal-making trade policy for average Americans. It may be beneficial to American beef and pork growers, while resulting in higher retails for consumers.

All economic policy has winners and losers. Consumers believe the economy is doing well when prices are cheap. Producers believe it is doing well when prices are high. For the economy to really work well, so many different things have to be kept in tension. I don't think it is possible to be completely controlled even though governments and powerful groups and large companies try. Often controls make problems worse, but no controls cause another set of problems. And an entire economy probably can't be completely understood by anybody.

Could the embargo on Brazilian beef due to the total corruption of their inspection system have a bit to do with this as well?

J.M.

Our local Costco has ribeye for $10.99 to 19.99 per lb. When I walked by I thought it surely was 19.99 per package but then I looked at the label on the package and saw $65 total. The cheapest steak was sirloin for $7.99. It is no wonder that restaurant prices for steak dinners have gone up a couple bucks recently.