More Food Inflation On The Way

Des Moines Register:

Chicken has been a relative bargain in recent months, at least compared to pork and beef, but that might not last long according to U.S. Department of Agriculture reports showing an 8 percent drop in broiler chick placements for the week ending Nov. 19 from a week earlier, and down 2 percent from the same week last year.
The USDA said “placements were down 8 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 2, 2011 through November 12, 2011 were 7.61 billion, down 2 percent from the same period a year earlier.”
The nation’s largest chicken producer, Tyson Foods of Springdale, Ark., said last week that a surplus of chicken and poultry products will erode in 2012.
“We expect industry (chicken) production will decrease approximately 4 percent from fiscal 2011, which should gradually improve market pricing conditions.”

Feed prices, breeding stock cutbacks and feeder placement decreases will drive all meat prices higher.  Beef and pork are going to get ugly.  With Tyson and Smithfield having so much control over chicken and pork breeding stock numbers, the numbers will get balanced out with the input costs, and prices will go up.