JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As people fire up the grill this Labor Day, the price of beef has surprised and even annoyed some people.
When Jakobe Garrett walked out of the grocery store, he noticed he had spent more on beef.
“This pound of beef was $11.85 cents,” said Garrett. “It’s usually around $9 upwards of $10 after tax, but it seems like it’s on the rise.”
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the average price for a pound of beef is $6.89 as of July.
According to the July Consumer Price Index report, beef prices have increased by 9% in the last year.
“It’s an all-time shortage of beef in general,” said Matthew Kenagy, Chief Marketing Officer for Southern Steer Butcher.
Southern Steer Butcher is based in Florida and has several locations across the country, including two in Jacksonville.
Kenagy says part of the reason for the price increase is changes to the cattle population.
“The cattle population is lower than it’s been in 75 years. So unfortunately, the demand has not slowed down at all. So you have a massive decrease in supply, and you have still a lot of consumer demand and customer demand. So that’s what continues to keep the price rising,” said Kenagy.
Kenagy says Southern Steer Butcher absorbed the price for most of the year but was recently forced to raise their prices.
As for Jakobe Garrett, he says the price increase is frustrating.
“Obviously, for families that don’t really make a lot and have to feed a big family, I can see it being pretty frustrating for them as well,” said Garrett.
Kenagy suggests shoppers buy in bulk and freeze the meat so you don’t have to keep dealing with the price increases over time.
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