In late April the House Agriculture Committee heard testimony from various beef industry stakeholders with different viewpoints regarding the state of beef and cattle markets in the United States and specifically whether consolidation in the industry has unfairly favored packers and processors over cattle ranchers and farmers. Chief executive officers from Cargill, Tyson Foods Inc., JBS and National Beef Packing Co. were among those who participated in the hearing and provided testimony. Tyson Foods' Donnie King shared his testimony on April 26 regarding meat producer interactions with current markets. King explained in his testimony that like nearly every product, basic market forces are driving beef prices at the moment. He also said labor shortages from the COVID-19 pandemic constrained beef production with consumer demand remaining high. "We just didn't have enough people to fully staff our plants, which resulted in a 'sudden and swift rise' in the oversupply of cattle and a corresponding drop in cattle prices," King said. "At the same time, the price for finished beef-the beef that consumers buy at grocery stores - was rising, driven by skyrocketing consumer demand, and basic economics holds that when demand is high and supply is low, prices will rise, which is precisely what they did."
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