World's beef eaters facing major price hikes ahead of barbecue season
Carnivores will likely need deeper pockets this year as global beef supplies tighten and prices head up again, in turn meaning more expensive barbecues, burgers, bolognese and steak dinners.
"Global beef production is expected to contract through the remainder of the year, with an overall contraction of 2% projected for the year," according to Angus Gidley-Baird of RaboResearch, part of Dutch lender Rabobank.
Some of the world's major cattle and beef producer countries expected to be affected, Gidley-Baird said, with "largest contractions" expected in Brazil and New Zealand, while Europe, the US and China are also likely to see reductions.
Even if other suppliers such as Australia and Argentina remain unaffected, the contracting supplies elsewhere are likely to see the "further supporting" of already "elevated" cattle prices.
Not only are global cattle markets "trending higher" this year, prices in Europe have seen an "especially strong rise in Q1 [the first quarter of the year] as domestic supplies contracted while demand remained strong."
Pests and diseases are affecting cattle supplies in Europe and North America, according to the researchers, who said that although beef has not been mentioned as a commodity to be targeted for tariffs beyond the impact of general or "baseline" measures, the prospect of further trade tensions has seen some reconfiguring of markets.
"Reports are emerging that Chinese buyers are looking more toward Australian, New Zealand and South American suppliers as US beef becomes unavailable or more expensive," Rabobank's researchers said.
The report follows warnings in some countries that the price of "conventional" beef has reached that of usually more expensive organic beef. This time of year usually sees seasonal high demand and high prices for beef as the 'barbecue season' associated with European and North American summers approaches.
Global food prices already saw significant increases during Covid lockdowns and in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022, a war pitting two major food commodity producers against each other. Prices for the most part have not returned to their pre-2020 level, with recent reports warning of further rises for staples such as coffee, cocoa, olive oil and sugar.
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