Growing the pork pie takes volume times price

With beef production shrinking, why aren't we seeing an increase in pork demand? That’s the question Glynn Tonsor has been fielding lately from the pork industry and beyond, and one he doesn’t try to dodge. While increased revenue is needed to grow the industry, the Kansas State University agricultural economics professor and author of the monthly Meat Demand Monitor says attacking another industry “usually doesn't correspond with the mentality of growing the pie.”

“Going back to 2022, we expected changes in the pork industry itself to have a much bigger impact on pork demand than anything that was going on in the beef or in the chicken industry. It's important to note that, based on 2022 data, that specifically because macroeconomics have declined, consumers’ footing, affordability and so forth, it's certainly worse for a lot of households here in September of 23 than it was in 2022,” Tonsor says. “Changes within the U.S. pork industry have a lot larger effect on domestic demand than things are going on in competing industries.”