American consumers expect lower April beef and pork prices

The combined projected market shares for beef and pork for March are 31% and 21% respectively in the grocery store and 39% and 16% in the restaurant. While retail demand for bacon was lower in March 2023 than it was in February 2023, for pork chops it improved both month-on-month and over the past two years, says Glynn Tonsor, a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University. . .

“In March 2023, demand for pork chops was higher than demand in March 2021, but this is not the case for bacon,” says Tonsor.

Comparing three years of March data shows that consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) in dollar terms per pound of pork chops was $6.73 in 2021, $8.29 in 2022 and $6.98 in 2023, then how consumers were willing to pay $5.57 for bacon in 2021, $7.06 in 2022 and $5.40 in 2023. Between 2021 and 2023, the WTP for pork chops increased by $0.25 and for bacon decreased by $0.17.

The Meat Demand Monitor (MDM), launched in February 2020, funded in part by Beef Checkoff and Pork Checkoff, tracks US consumer preferences, attitudes and demand with separate analysis of retail and food service channels. The monthly survey is conducted online with the participation of more than 2,000 respondents representing the country's population.

Respondents expect retail meat prices to remain moderate in the future . Consumers expect retail prices for ground beef, pork chops and bacon to increase by 2% or less in April, lower than expected in March. 

TonsorMar2023_ExpectedMeatPriceIncrease

Taste, freshness, price and safety remain the most important factors when buying meat. In March, 71% of respondents declared themselves regular consumers of products derived from animal products, 11% indicated that they were flexitarian / semi-vegetarian, and in total 11% indicated that they were either vegan or vegetarian.

One surprising finding from the March MDM study was the increased consumption of pork by the younger generation. More than one in three Millennials (1981-1996) and Gen Z (1997 or later) respondents reported eating minced pork at least once a week.