Rabobank says food inflation continues to outpace overall inflation, and restaurants feel the pressure of nine straight quarters of declining traffic, but some chains are bucking the trend and growing in visits and spending.
U.S. retail beef prices continue rising, with the USDA’s all-fresh beef price reaching a record $9.18 per pound in August. U.S. cattle slaughter from January through September is down 1.5 million head, a seven percent drop compared to the same period last year. Pork prices are still well ahead of year-ago levels and the five-year average, with cutout values of $109 per hundredweight averaging 15 percent above last year.
Chicken production also continues to outpace year-ago levels, and chicken prices have also come down sharply in recent weeks. August milk production increased 3.2 percent versus last year, and at 9.52 million cows, the herd is the largest it’s been since the mid-1990s. July dairy exports were up seven percent year-over-year.
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