Do Fair Farm Prices
Lower Food Costs ?

Hold on to your hat, because this is a new story that shows all the confusing twist and turns of food pricing. Let’s start at the beginning.

Twist #1 – Farmers Not Getting Fair Value
Pork producers have been losing money. It cost them more to raise a hog than they could sell it for. Therefore, many producers where going out of business. Experts panicked. With fewer hogs in the market, the price of pork chops would increase.

Twist #2 – Our Bad Economy Is Good for Europe
Because the U.S. dollar is so weak, foreign countries can buy our products – including pork – for pennies on the dollar. (Or should we say “yen”?) For example, Russia has doubled the amount of pork it purchases. “Competing” with other countries for cheap meat also raises the price of pork at the grocery store.

Twist #3 – A Porker Epidemic
China’s pork producers are having a hard time. Thanks to disease problems, their production is down 9% from last year. That’s why China is importing three times more pork. Once again, this raises the cost of sausage at the grocery store.

Twist #4 – High Steak Prices
Pork is cheap and the American shopper is in a mood to look for bargains as both food and fuel price increases have cut into family budgets. In April, for example, retail beef averaged $4.17 per pound and pork was $2.86. That is a saving of $1.31 per pound.

Twist #5 – Whoa, Didn’t See It Coming
Experts predicted that eventually farmers would get paid enough to cover their costs… but only after hundreds of them went out of businesses. Now the experts are calling it a "miracle." Not as many farmers had to close up shop as expected and prices are on the up swing.

Now here’s the really twisty-turvey thought – although the price of pork for packers and food companies has increased, the price at the grocery store may not. A fair price for farmers keeps them in business, where they can best supply the world… keeping overall costs down.

This just demonstrates how complicated the food price issue really is. Who would have guessed?