Pass the tofu? U.S. could soon face a meat shortage as COVID-19 impacts supplies

The lockdown is not even over yet, but you are already beginning to see rising price inflation, particularly in high-demand industries.

Case in point, meat.

The United States economy is preparing for a meat shortage in the coming weeks as the coronavirus outbreak wreaks havoc on meat supplies. Here is a laundry list of things that have happened:

– American, Canadian, and British Columbia poultry plants have suspended operations after employees contracted COVID-19.

– One-third of U.S. pork capacity is down.

– A growing number of supermarkets are seeing a reduction in pork products on shelves.

– U.S. wholesale beef prices touched an all-time high.

– U.S. wholesale pork prices surged 29%.

– U.S. egg prices have more than tripled.

And, consider this fact: “Total American meat supplies in cold-storage facilities are equal to roughly two weeks of production. With most plant shutdowns lasting about 14 days for safety reasons, that further underscores the potential for deficits.”

Brett Stuart, president of Denver-based consulting firm Global AgriTrend, told Bloomberg:

“It’s absolutely unprecedented. It’s a lose-lose situation where we have producers at the risk of losing everything and consumers at the risk of paying higher prices. Restaurants in a week could be out of fresh ground beef.”

Still, this is a great opportunity for European farmers since their facilities have yet to be affected by the coronavirus.

It is also unsurprising that Beyond Meat is up 50% this month.