No one was complaining about beef prices in 1981 (except farmers)
CBC Archives | Posted: February 4, 2020 1:30 PM | Last Updated: February 4, 2022
U.S. surplus made American cows a good buy for meat packers
A T-bone steak was less pricey, and that was good for consumers. Producers, not so much.
At the beginning of February 1981, some grocery stores had "slashed" the price of beef by 30 cents a pound (about 83 cents in 2021), according to Knowlton Nash, host of CBC's The National.
The new, lower cost of beef represented the first time consumers got relief that winter, in a year when life just kept getting more expensive.
More supermarkets were expected to follow suit.
Oversupply south of the border
T-bone steaks were selling for $4 a pound, and sirloin steak had dropped to $3.70 a pound.
Cheaper options, like ground beef and stewing beef, remained unchanged, according to reporter Marguerite McDonald.
The reason was simple.
"The United States market has a surplus of cattle, so American prices have fallen," said McDonald.
Even accounting for the exchange rate, and charges for trucking, tariffs and brokerages, Canadian meat packers were still getting a deal when they bought cattle from the U.S.
"As a result, they're not buying in Canada [and] prices go down," said Ross Carroll, head of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association.
'Feeling the pinch'
Producers in Canada were "feeling the pinch," said McDonald.
Steers were each selling for $65 less than they had cost just a month earlier.
"The Canadian Cattlemen's Association says that for some, it may mean bankruptcy," said McDonald.
And if too many cattlemen left the business, that could mean prices would "skyrocket."
For the moment, lower prices were good news for the consumer.
"It's too early to tell whether beef prices will go any lower," said the reporter. "But if you're wondering whether to stock up now for the barbecue months ahead ... prices aren't likely to rise until the end of March."