Beef and pork prices soared to record highs in the supermarket in 2014 but shoppers are seeing some relief as producers expand cattle and hog herds. Pork prices “continue to fall below 2014 figures as there are signs of industry expansion and a lower volume of exports due to the strength of the U.S. dollar,” says the monthly Food Price Outlook. It says for the year, pork prices are down by 3.75 percent from last year and estimates a below-normal rise of 2 percent in 2016. Beef zoomed by 12 percent in 2014 and will rise by 7.25 percent this year. But the 2016 forecast is a below-normal increase of 1.5 percent. “U.S. beef exports have declined, helping place downward pressure on retail beef prices by increasing the supply of beef on the U.S. market,” said the USDA report.
USDA lowered its estimate of food inflation for this year to 2 percent, compared to the average annual increase of 2.6 percent. Its forecast for the new year is 2.5 percent. The biggest change from 2015 to the new year would be in egg prices. The bird flu epidemic killed 10 percent of the hens that lay eggs for table consumption, forcing up prices by more than 17 percent this year. Prices are forecast to stay flat in 2016 as egg farmers re-stock their barns.