I know I have talked many times about how we purchase on the fresh wholesale meat market each week. And I know I have mentioned how you can equate the prices to that of the gasoline market, it fluctuates often!
We get new pricing weekly and we often see the prices fluctuating by a few pennies per lb up and down. When we get this pricing, we are working hard to secure as good of a deal as possible with buying by the truckload (while we offer it by the case to our community members) and secure those prices for a time. This was the case with the $97 chicken breast and thighs in January and February.
Well, the past few weeks, the prices have not changed by pennies, but rather dimes per lb, many dimes per week, effectively increasing the price by over $1lb in just a few weeks. We have chosen to restock the chicken, even at this higher price for the co-op because it is currently STILL $2 per lb cheaper than the same quality from the grocery store and so it is still the best value for the specific high-quality product it is. We want to always provide the best prices in any given market even if that market is higher at the moment.
What does this mean for the future prices?!?
That is a good question!
Just like gasoline prices, if we could predict the future, we would tell you! It’s a mystery to everyone honestly. Especially the producers. This is because there are MANY factors that affect their production prices.
1. BIRD FLU is the #1 factor. Now read carefully. The current bird flu is affecting egg layers, not broilers (birds produced for eggs vs. birds produced for consumption). So there is not as big of an impact on chicken prices as there are on egg prices. But the fallout is that the mass culling, extra production costs from issues like enhanced sanitation and the demand and price on chicks is HIGH right now. So although not a direct impact, the fallout has caught up with the broilers.
2. Labor - they have told us they have had a struggle with enough labor right now, so while they are working to solve, they are processing less, which when the demand stays the same…effectively increases the cost per lb!
3. Production - they have also told us another factor right now is that the birds are not performing like they use to. I know this is a confusing statement, so let me simply explain it. They follow a strict process for raising, they raise these for 5-6 weeks and they typically come out between 6-7 lbs (while the big chicken producers grow for 5-6 weeks and give growth hormones to increase their weight to 9-10 lbs) READ THIS ARTICLE FOR MORE INFO.
However, after the 5-6 weeks, the birds are coming out smaller than normal, which means more birds are needed per 40lb box, effectively being another factor in price increases per lb.
These are the main reasons our producer has given us for the rising cost in chicken right now. But there are other factors including higher costs in winter to keep birds warm, extra feed in winter months, and constant supply/demand issues.
We know prices will come down eventually, but we ALWAYS want to be the source for the best option for the best prices in ANY given market. That is my goal for our community always!
Know that when the prices drop in the wholesale meat market, so will ours! But at this point, you can at least save $2 per lb from current grocery store prices. :)
Here's an example of current store prices:
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How to Use 40 lbs of Chicken Breast in Bulk and Restock Every Three Months