1、CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i COVID-19 Disrupts U.S. Meat Supply; Producer Prices Tumble Joel L. Greene Analyst in Agricultural Policy April 29, 2020 U.S. livestock and poultry producers entered 2020 with an optimistic outlook for prices and income. Th
2、en in mid-March the food service sector, which accounts for a substantial share of meat consumption, was largely shut down as most states closed all but essential businesses. A temporary surge in retail meat purchases offset some of the reduction in food service demand. However, in early April, the
3、situation worsened for producers as COVID-19 outbreaks began spreading in meatpacking plants around the United States, disrupting meat processing and leading to some shortages of meat products in grocery stores. The reduction in slaughter is weighing on livestock prices, reflecting shrinking meatpac
4、ker demand for slaughter-ready livestock and poultry. On April 12, 2020, Smithfield Foods, the largest pork processor in the United States, indefinitely closed its Sioux Falls, SD, pork processing plant because of the spread of COVID-19 among plant workers. With an estimated daily slaughter capacity
