FOX Business Correspondent Jeff Flock discusses record ground beef prices due to the issue of supply of “Varney & Co.”
Beef prices are high for US businesses and consumers.
They are forced to make tough decisions on how to handle the increased costs, and some companies are passing costs to their customers.
Rob Passio, Lombardi's main meat owner in Philadelphia, said Fox Business Correspondent Jeff will flock to “Verney & Co.”
Passio said the butcher shops don't see customers alking at higher prices “because they're watching it.”
Eggs aren't the only expensive food: beef prices are also rising
Organic Ground Beef in Bavaria, Nuremberg, October 30, 2020 (Photo Alliance by Daniel Karmann / Getty Images / Getty Images)
“They're looking at inflation. They're looking at pricing. You know, everything's going up,” he told Flock.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows inflation data measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), showing that beef prices rose 2.4% in the month of February and 7.6% year-on-year.
Overall CPI was up 0.2% year-on-year and 2.8% year-on-year.
Courtney Schmidt, sector manager at Wells Fargo Agri Food Institute, told Fox Business last month that higher beef prices have driven tougher US beef production with consistent consumer demand.
According to Schmidt, American herds have experienced downcycles, with cattle catalogs in 2025 at historically low levels.
Demand for beef has been strong since the pandemic, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. (Kennedy Hayes / Fox News / Fox News)
The USDA reported in late January that 86.7 million cattle and calves were held on U.S. farms. According to the USDA, beef counts were particularly 27.9 million, down 1% compared to the same time last year.
“I think they're trying to kill them faster because they know they're killing little cows.
Several large companies source Canadian and Mexican beef, and Flock reported on “Varney & Co.”
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President Donald Trump imposes a 25% import duties on goods entered the US from two countries on March 4, and most recently introduced a Mexico and Canada exemption under the US-Mexico-Canada agreement until early April.
According to Passio, such a levy on imported beef is to “raise the price” and consumers “will pay it.”
“My philosophy is to save, sell as low as possible to show value to our customers, and I hope there are more customers to generate your revenue.”
The beef packaging will be on sale at a supermarket in Foster City, California on January 12, 2023. (Liu Guanguan/China News Service/VCG Getty Images/Getty Images)
In the US, Grand Beef averaged $5.63 in February, but according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the price per pound of boneless sirloin steak was $11.90. These average prices were 9.6% and 1.6% higher than the same month in 2024, respectively.
Egg prices surge: We're “away through the tough part,” says Agriculture Secretary Rollins.
In a report released this month, the USDA predicts that US beef production is poised to reach £2668.5 billion this year.
Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.
