Grocery stores this season are raising the price of Turkeys for this Thanksgiving. A rise in the bird flu has struck turkeys this year. A lot of retailers and grocery stores have spiked in prices as data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows. Those price spikes aren’t being shown to shoppers, as USDA data shows turkey prices have been hanging on steadily compared to the previous year.
Experts say the grocery stores are taking in the increased costs of turkeys and taking in the loss in an effort to bring customers into their stores, even though turkey dinner prices have stayed stable; an increased cost can be seen from the lower supply of turkeys due to the bird flu, which is the main culprit of the increased cost.
Bird flu cases have started to appear among popular poultry farms this fall. Around October, more than 2 million turkeys have been culled this year due to exposure to the flu. The country’s top turkey producer has already experienced 6 different outbreaks related to turkeys in October, according to the USDA.
Although turkeys are facing an outbreak, they aren’t the only animals that are affected. The second virus of the season, “Avian Metapneumvirus,” is reducing hens’ ability to produce a number of viable eggs, putting more pressure on turkey farmers to recover from the loss. The number of turkeys in stock
This Thanksgiving is smaller, and stores are losing money to attract customers. Retailers know budgets are tight, so they’re attempting to lose profit to attract customers by selling turkeys at their original price rather than their current market price. Many families have chosen to remove turkeys from their Thanksgiving meal and replace them with other options. How will retailers recover from this loss, and when will the outbreak settle?
