Why is beef so expensive?
UC economist weighs in on the price spike
WLWT News 5 reported that beef prices continue to climb, with ground beef up 12% and steak 8% more expensive than a year ago.
Gary Painter, PhD, economics expert and academic director of real estate at Lindner College of Business, spoke with WLWT on why prices may be so high.
“It's shrinking supply and therefore that would put upward pressure on prices as well,” Painter told WLWT. “I think what we've seen is that there has been a small reduction in the overall amount of cattle that are grown for beef to hit the market.”
Tariffs could be another factor, with the U.S. getting some of its beef through imports.
“We saw that the Trump administration put a 50% tariff on Brazil[...] It turns out we actually import a lot of beef from Brazil,” Painter explained.
Featured image at top of a customer picking up a package of beef in a grocery store. Photo/iStock/gilaxia.
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