Will meats for the grill cost us more than last year? Well, the answer is a definite... maybe.  Sometimes trends in wholesale prices can give an indication.  USDA Livestock Analyst, Shayle Shagam, to look at wholesale prices back a few weeks when stores would have been buying and stocking up for the holiday.  He found a really mixed picture.

 

On the beef side if we look at the price of steak type items, such as rounds or ribs," Shagam said.  "We're looking at those prices being about 5-10% lower than a year ago.

But on the typical 4th, more hamburgers are grilled than anything else and so for whole sale prices," It's about 21% higher than we were a year ago."

A mixed bag for wholesale pork prices compared to last year,  "Loins, again a grilling traditional type item, up about 4% but ribs down about 10%."

Wholesale chicken prices up no matter what type, however Shagam said for holidays stores usually, "Eat some of that higher cost at wholesale to bring people in the stores."

So, who knows? Looks like for the 4th, your meat costs will depend on what you're buying, and which stores you're buying it from.

 

 

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