July is peak grilling season, but in 2024, it is coming at a greater price. As cattle prices continue to increase, so does the price consumers spend for their beef. Senior Beef Analyst for Rabobank Lance Zimmerman explains that despite the declines in cattle slaughter, beef has seen a 30-plus pound increase in cattle carcass weights, double-digit growth in imports, and a double-digit decrease in exports.
“A lot of these increases in prices are in anticipation of those declining supplies that are yet to come due to that cow herd liquidation that’s taken place, but we’ve also actually, over the course of this spring and early summer period, seen relatively robust demand for beef,” says Zimmerman. “And that’s probably been one of the bigger surprises in the marketplace, is even at these higher price points, consumers are still coming to the grocery store and putting beef in their basket.”
According to the 2024 Rabobank BBQ Index, the average cost of a quarter-pound beef patty is $1.40.
