More expensive beef: why such a meteoric rise in price? Interview with Pascal Thériault
Beef prices have risen in recent years, and could continue to do so in the coming year, Le Journal de Montréal reports.
This year's high prices are partly explained by the price of grain used to feed the cattle, according to agronomist and economist Pascal Thériault, Director of McGill's Farm Management and Technology Program.
“There have been droughts, and production has been high. The demand for beef has remained strong,” explained Thériault in an interview.
Producers who reduced their herds when grain prices rose in 2022 are now trying to rebuild, but interest rates and grain prices remain very high, he said.
“They're going to slow down the speed at which they rebuild their herd. Then with beef demand still strong, that's bound to put pressure on prices,” he believes.
The agronomist and economist doesn't think beef prices will drop anytime soon.
“I think that, considering what we experienced two years ago with grain prices, we'll continue to see beef prices rise for at least another six months, if not a year,” he asserts, noting that it takes two years to bring beef cattle to maturity.