Higher Meat Prices Predicted to Last

Feb 16, 2007 3:00 AM

NEW YORK -- The soaring price of corn will present a major challenge for pork, chicken and beef producers for at least the next five years, leading to sustained increases in wholesale and retail prices, reduced production and flattened U.S. per capita consumption of meats during that time, predicted analysts in a conference call hosted by Wachovia Capital Markets this week. Corn prices have more than doubled from $2 to $4 per bushel in less than a year, due to an increase in demand from the budding ethanol industry, noted Bill Roenigk, chief economist for the National Chicken Council. With continued growth expected in the renewable fuels industry, that demand is not expected to slacken in the foreseeable future. Corn growers, he said, will likely have trouble keeping pace with the demands of meat producers, export markets and the ethanol industry, leading to ongoing high prices for animal feed.