TXRH - Chicken prices are soaring but steak inflation may be better than feared

Evercore ISI published a mixed outlook for protein inflation with rapid inflation expected to continue in chicken and hamburger, but steak prices seen stabilizing. The firm said most protein prices are set to rise substantially due to higher feed costs, although beef inflation in general may be lower than feared. Analyst David Palmer and team warn that the historical correlation between grain prices and oil will hold up, which likely translates to higher corn, wheat, and soybean prices. Within the meat industry, higher feed grain prices are said to be most impactful to chicken prices as 70%–80% of the cost of production is feed vs. just 20% to 30% for beef. "Largely as a result of higher grain prices, YoY chicken breast inflation could reach +70% in 1H22. The Avian Flu doesn’t sound like it’s a material factor right now given the winter period but will be watching this summer

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Chicken prices are soaring but steak inflation may be better than feared