It comes as no surprise that most consumers are dealing with money stress right now. It is a problem livestock economists and the meat industry are closely watching.
“But there’s actually some concern now amongst market analysts that this could be a growing kind of market situation that consumers are actually stretched thin, and that they’re maxing out their credit cards and delinquencies are up. So when that’s the case, we know that beef tends to be price-sensitive. Especially during times of recession. So there is some kind of worry that maybe consumers are signaling that there could be a potential recession,” said Elliott Dennis.
A Kansas state poll shows consumers are becoming more aware of rising costs. Dennis says he will continue to study disposable income habits, saying it could have a big impact on beef production.
