They alternately report higher willingness to pay for meats, and expectations for higher prices and lowered consumption.

Alan Newport, Editor, Beef Producer

January 24, 2017

1 Min Read
Consumers hesitant about meat purchasing

Consumers showed tremendous uncertainty, almost a collective split personality, in the latest monthly national consumer survey from Oklahoma State University (FooDS).

On the one hand, their willingness to pay for a variety of food items that includes ground beef and steak went up 7% December to January. In the case of ground beef and steak, they were willing to pay more in January 2017 than the previous January 2016. They also increased eating expenditures away from home by 4.66% and decreased expenditures eating at home. These two things suggest an increase in consumer confidence, which was also noted to have risen in the recent Michigan consumer confidence survey -- a combination of three indexes which rated consumer confidenceĀ this January at increases of 5.7% to 7.5% higher than the rating one year earlier.

To read Newport's complete column, click here.

About the Author(s)

Alan Newport

Editor, Beef Producer

Alan Newport is editor of Beef Producer, a national magazine with editorial content specifically targeted at beef production for Farm Progressā€™s 17 state and regional farm publications. Beef Producer appears as an insert in these magazines for readers with 50 head or more of beef cattle. Newport lives in north-central Oklahoma and travels the U.S. to meet producers and to chase down the latest and best information about the beef industry.

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