The American Meat Institute is
defending wild price swings for cattle after the August, 2019, fire at the
Tyson Foods’ plant at Holcomb, Kansas, and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The institute’s biggest members
are under several investigations for price-fixing.
The institute issued a statement
this week that said “in its analysis of the effects of the fire and the
pandemic, USDA (the United States Department of Agriculture) found no
wrong-doing and confirms the disruption in the beef markets was due to
devastating and unprecedented events.”
Meat Institute president and chief
executive officer Julie Anna Potts said “it is difficult to see how the USDA’s
recommended legislative proposals would have changed the outcome of the fire or
the pandemic.
“We will continue discussions with producer
groups, Congress, and the Administration to ensure there is a fair and
competitive market.
It cited Dr.
Stephen Koontz of the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at
Colorado State who said “record low livestock prices are also not a surprise.
If packers cannot run at typical throughput levels – especially if supplies are
abundant –then the marginal value of that last group of animals that is not sold
is close to zero.”
And wholesale
beef prices rose because shoppers emptied supermarket meat counters and the
stores we eager to refill them.
