Chicken prices at U.S. grocery stores have hit record highs and should stay elevated as Tyson Foods and other companies dial back poultry production to boost margins while inflation-weary shoppers buy chicken instead of beef and pork.

Higher chicken prices should improve earnings at top producers Tyson (TSN.N) and Pilgrim’s Pride (PPC.O), but will pinch consumers’ pockets as they try to save money by turning away from higher-end proteins. One index shows chicken producer profit margins at their highest in a year.

U.S. consumption of chicken is expected to exceed 100 pounds per person this year for the first time ever, data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows.

Beef consumption is forecast to drop to its lowest since 2018, as prices climb due to dwindling cattle supplies. Meanwhile, consumer spending cuts have knocked pork consumption to the lowest since 2015.

Arkansas-based Tyson, which sells all three types of meat, had to deal with a glut of chicken after earning massive profits when meat prices soared during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    • @WhatAmLemmy
      link
      English
      161 year ago

      Lol, that was only several years ago. But they were fined a pittance? Why would they continue to commit the same crimes when it’s wildly profitable?

      • Transient Punk
        link
        fedilink
        English
        14
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        It’s not a fine, it’s just a cost of doing business.

        The only way to make them stop is to hurt their profits, but our corptocracy is too spineless to levy proper fines against businesses.

        • Cylusthevirus
          link
          fedilink
          71 year ago

          Or we could start tar and feathering boards of directors. We could even use chicken feathers!

        • @Iamdanno
          link
          -11 year ago

          Oligarchy is the word you’re trying for.

      • @chiliedogg
        link
        11 year ago

        Not only are their fines small, but they also implicate others in their schemes that have to pay higher fines, so they also are able to prove the competition they conspire with out of the market