Dairy Report: Demand for U.S. Dairy Headed in the Right Direction
Dairy Report 070621
Some good news for dairy producers, overall demand for U.S. dairy appears headed back to pre-pandemic levels. That’s according to the latest dairy market report from Dairy Management and the National Milk Producers Federation.
The organizations also reporting dairy exports have achieved near-record highs. Wholesale prices for butter, nonfat dry milk and dry whey in May were all higher than before the pandemic began, but cheese prices continue to struggle.
Could demand for beef at the grocery store be starting to wane? Bloomberg reports U.S. sales of meat at grocery stores are down by more than 12% from a year ago. It also says overall beef demand in Europe is expected to fall 1% this year. In Argentina, it's down almost 4% from 2020.
It reports higher prices that started in October, along with tighter global supplies of animal feed and supply-chain disruptions, are behind the drop.
Ground beef prices in the U.S. are up about 6% since before COVID-19. Chicken is up 9% and pork chops are up 13%. Meanwhile, global sales of meat substitutes have increased more than 70% in the past decade.
