"Canned beef prices are set to soar by up to a third in the coming months due to cattle shortages in South America.
The position has been exacerbated by shortages in Argentina, where 10 million cattle have been killed in the past year including many breeding cows as farmers liquidate stocks to switch to more profitable forms of agriculture.
Ye Olde Oak, which sold a small volume of corned beef last year sourced from Argentina, would not be selling any this year as returns had not justified the investment, said sales director David Coles.
"I would have gone back in a big way this year if the price had been a bit higher," he said. "It's a commoditised market. Cost prices have firmed significantly and currency is not in our favour."
Further price rises could derail industry efforts to interest shoppers in cooking using canned meat, according to one supermarket supplier. "There has been renewed interest in corned beef as younger customers have been attracted by its versatility in recipes, but that will be difficult to sustain at the projected new price tickets," he said."
2 comments:
10 million cattle were killed just to make room ? for what, planting corn?
good god :(
Soy, mostly.
Cattle on the great pampas hasn't been a lucrative proposition for a long time. When the bio-fuel fueled grain prices came... ranchers with the best land were persuaded to the plow it all up.
We converted 3/8ths of our spread to GM soy and corn ...and we extremely grateful for the cash up front, in USD, with no risk nor inputs.
Unlike most, we kept the rest for cattle and invested most of the money into raising even more cows and fattening them.
We´ve come out ok... but not without some nailbiting along the way!
It´s disastrous, really.
Mike
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