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Beef prices are going to keep rising for the rest of this year. That's according to a U.S.
Department of Agriculture economist who says greater beef exports combined with shrinking
domestic supply is pushing up prices. International demand for these foods has been growing so
we've seen demand going up while supply has been flat lining or even going down lately.
The drought contributed to that as we saw ranchers across the country liquidating their
herds in an effort to reduce costs. And so here we are in 2013 where beef prices are
in many cases are at record highs and are going to continue to climb until the cattle
inventories start to really expand to meet demand, which because of the size of these
animals and the cost associated with growing them probably won't happen until 2014. Poultry
and egg prices are also increasing, but Volpe says prices in the rest of the supermarket
should be pretty stable for the rest of the year. The impact of the drought is looking
like it is going to be less than was originally forecast
and what that means is that right now we're on track for a year of
basically normal food price inflation. We're forecasting a range of two and a half to three
and a half percent. And Volpe says pork prices should be flat
this year. The inventory of hogs has been increasing a lot faster than
has been the inventory of cattle. We've also seen to some extent consumers shifting away
from pork products and towards poultry products, which historically in the last few years have
been relatively less expensive. In Washington, D.C. for the U.S. Department of
Agriculture I'm Bob Ellison.