WASHINGTON, DC – The Meat Institute issued the following statement from Meat Institute President and CEO, Julie Anna Potts, in response to news reporting of a Harris Campaign proposal to place a federal ban on price gouging:

“Consumers have been impacted by high prices due to inflation on everything from services to rent to automobiles, not just at the grocery store. A federal ban on price gouging does not address the real causes of inflation.

“The Harris campaign rhetoric unfairly targets the meat and poultry industry and does not match the facts. Food prices continue to come down from the highs of the pandemic. Prices for meat are based on supply and demand. Avian Influenza, a shortage of beef cattle and high input prices like energy and labor are all factors that determine prices at the meat case.

“Prices that livestock producers receive for their animals are also heavily influenced by supply and demand. Prices for cattle producers especially are at record highs, surpassing the 2014-2015 previous record highs. Today, well into 2024, cattle prices remain at record levels because the US has the lowest cattle inventory since Harry Truman was President.

“Major meat companies have reported losses during the Biden-Harris Administration, with some closing facilities and laying off workers.”

Background:

On industry profit margins:

According to a New York University Study: net profit margins for food processors are a modest 6 percent, for food wholesalers, 1.1 percent and for grocers, 1.8 percent. Farming and agriculture margins are at 7.12 percent. Contrast those low margins with the net profit margins of other industries like entertainment software, 20 percent, rail transportation, 23 percent and computers, 17.47 percent, just to name a few.

For the state of the beef packer:

According to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker, packer margins are red for ’23 and ’24 AND projected to remain negative into ’25.

For the state of the pork packer:

According to the Sterling Pork Profit Tracker, pork packers were in the red in 2022, 2023.

Share of the Consumer Dollar:

In the beef market, the share of the consumer dollar is steady with the meat packer and processor receiving the smallest share.

About the Meat Institute

The Meat Institute represents the full community of people and companies who make the majority of meat American families rely on every day. The Meat Institute’s hands-on regulatory and technical expertise, proactive advocacy, unique convening power, collaboration within and beyond animal agriculture, and sector-leading continuous improvement initiatives drive relationships and resources that ensure meat continues to be a vital, trusted pillar of healthy diets and thriving communities for generations to come. To learn more, visit: MeatInstitute.org.