Cookout Costs Rising
Record High Beef Prices Force Families to Rethink Summer Cookouts Amid Inflation
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The average Fourth of July cookout for 10 people now costs a record $73.82 — up 4% from last year and the highest price since the survey began in 2016, according to USA Today. Soaring beef prices are the main driver, pushing families to swap steaks for chicken, pork, and cheaper cuts of meat.
Federal data shows ground beef now averages $6.83 a pound nationally. Beef steaks hover near $13 a pound. Those numbers are still climbing, and they are reshaping what Americans throw on the grill this summer, USA Today reports.
Record Cookout Costs Hit Families at the Grill
The American Farm Bureau Federation tracks cookout costs every year. This year's $73.82 price tag for a holiday meal is a new record. That works out to about $7.38 per person. The biggest culprit is beef, which has seen prices climb for nearly two straight years, according to USA Today.
Tyson CEO Donnie King said raw-material inflation has "persisted for nearly two years." Food companies are feeling this squeeze firsthand. Higher costs at the farm level have moved steadily up the supply chain and landed on grocery store shelves — and now on backyard grills, Cincinnati.com reports.
Ground Beef and Steaks Hit Painful New Highs
Ground beef at $6.83 a pound is a sharp jump from what shoppers paid just a few years ago. Beef steaks are even more painful at nearly $13 a pound. These prices are not easing. Federal data tracked through June shows beef costs were still rising, Montgomery Advertiser reports.
Michael Swanson, chief agricultural economist at Wells Fargo, says imports are actually helping keep prices from going even higher. The U.S. is bringing in more lower-priced frozen boneless beef from abroad. That imported beef helps supply the hamburger market and puts a partial ceiling on domestic price increases, according to USA Today.
Shoppers Swap Steaks for Chicken and Pork
When beef gets too expensive, people find alternatives. This summer, that means chicken, pork, and cheaper beef cuts are filling grocery carts that once held ribeyes and strip steaks. Consumers are making a clear trade-off to keep cookout costs manageable, Dispatch reports.
This kind of substitution is a classic sign of price pressure hitting a breaking point. Families are not giving up on cookouts. They are just changing what they cook. Chicken and pork remain significantly cheaper per pound than beef, making them the budget-friendly stars of this summer's grilling season, according to Providence Journal.
Why Beef Prices May Not Drop Anytime Soon
The U.S. cattle herd is near its smallest size in decades. Fewer cattle mean less beef supply. Less supply means higher prices. Rebuilding the herd takes years, so relief at the meat counter is not coming quickly, according to Coloradoan.
Imports of frozen boneless beef are helping at the margins. But they are not enough to fully replace domestic supply shortfalls. Wells Fargo's Swanson notes that without those imports, prices would be even higher. For now, Americans grilling this summer should expect beef to stay expensive well into next year, USA Today reports.
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