By William Secor
Beef demand has been great this year. In 2024, the U.S. is estimated to consume the most beef per person since 2009. This comes amid the highest prices on record, with the all-fresh retail beef price averaging above $8 per pound for the last five months (Figure 1 below). This represents historically strong demand that has not been seen in years.
Figure 2 plots beef consumption per person against the inflation-adjusted all-fresh retail price by year. Each year is represented by the last two numbers of each year (e.g., 1999 is the number “99” in the right-hand corner). The red circle area represents where.
Source : osu.edu