- Texas barbecue restaurants are facing widespread closures or imminent financial distress due to rapidly escalating beef prices, with many owners describing themselves as being in “survival mode” for the past year.
- The average retail price for beef, crucial for brisket, reached a record $9.64 per pound in April, marking a 13 per cent increase from the previous year, forcing establishments like Kirby's BBQ to close and others to raise prices significantly.
- Industry experts attribute the soaring costs to a combination of factors, including general inflation, tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration, the smallest U.S. cattle herd in 75 years due to drought, and increased operating expenses post-pandemic.
- Many barbecue joint owners and industry figures accuse a handful of large meatpacking corporations, which control over 85 per cent of the market, of manipulating prices, prompting state and federal regulators to launch investigations into their conduct.
- The current administration is reportedly divided on how to address the rising beef prices, having delayed plans to announce a temporary reduction in import tariffs on meat to allow for further discussions.
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