It’s no surprise because Biden often cited it when legislation authorizing the spending was wending its way through Congress and the Senate.
But it drew strident opposition from the North American Meat Institute whose members include all of the largest meat-packing companies in the United States and Canada.
NAMI said it’s not lack of competition that has led to higher meat prices, but the forces of supply and demand.
NAMI said the real pressure is coming from the shortage of workers and hefty wage increases many packers began to offer to retain and attract staff during the last few months.
Biden has pointed to price-fixing lawsuits against the nation’s largest chicken and pork packers as evidence of the lack of competition.
Beef farmers in particular have complained that prices for their cattle are stuck while wholesale beef prices and packer profits have soared during the COVID-19 pandemic.
NAMI wants the Biden administration to tell how many more competitors it thinks the meat industry needs, how high it thinks cattle prices ought to rise, where workers will be found for the new packing-industry capacity and what the pay levels should be, has it identified regions to be targeted and has it considered the impact on existing small-scale competitors.
