Red meat prices soar as feed costs rise and cattle supply shrinks
"...with supply and demand, when you have fewer cattle to slaughter, naturally, the price would go higher," says Mike Gcabo, Beef South Africa CEO.
Beef, steak, meat / Pixabay: imissyou
702's John Perlman spoke to Mike Gcabo, CEO of Beef South Africa.
Listen to their conversation in the audio clip below.
Have you noticed that red meat prices have been going up lately?
According to Gcabo, rising costs of feed, driven by higher prices of soy and maize, are placing financial pressure on producers and directly pushing up the price.
Gcabo adds that at the same time, the cattle industry is still recovering from outbreaks of diseases like foot and mouth, which have significantly reduced the supply of healthy, slaughter-ready cattle.
"...with supply and demand, when you have fewer cattle to slaughter, naturally, the price would go higher..."
- Mike Gcabo, Beef South Africa CEO
Gcabo explains that as winter approaches, grazing becomes limited, leading to even higher feeding costs, leaving farmers and producers reliant on purchased feed rather than natural grazing, further escalating the overall cost of production.
Scroll up to listen to the full conversation