Thanksgiving Turkey Is Facing an Additional Price Hike
While we can finally safely gather with friends and family to fill ourselves foolishly with all kinds of comfort foods, our Thanksgiving plans are now facing a different issue—sky-high. price tag.
And when it comes to the price of this year’s turkey, we can blame the bird flu. A rare outbreak of poultry disease could drive the prices of the Thanksgiving staple higher than expected, according to food dive,
According to the US Department of Agriculture, after two months without any cases, bird flu has reared its ugly head, with ten outbreaks recorded since July 14, affecting more than 600,000 birds. This is despite the fact that bird flu does not usually spread during hot weather.
Still, avian flu has hit heat wave after heat wave, and has managed to kill about 5.4 million turkeys between January and July—about 2.5% of all turkeys killed for consumption last year. Is, food dive Report.
“Genie-O Turkey Store is preparing for this situation and takes comprehensive precautions to protect the health of turkeys throughout its supply chain,” the company confirms in a statement, adding that bird flu has been detected in its supply chain at a Minnesota operation. was found. ,
Bird flu was first detected in Indiana in February, and has spread to 24 states, according to researchers at Iowa State University.
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So, how does this affect Thanksgiving? In an earnings call, Hormel Foods, one of the largest turkey processors in the United States, expects its supply to be disrupted in the first quarter of fiscal year 2023. That means volumes in the fourth quarter, aka the Thanksgiving Day quarter, will drop 20%, according to CFO Jacinth Smiley.
“Low industry-wide turkey supply is expected to keep prices higher in the near term,” Smiley noted in the earnings call.
