# Meat prices rise while cattle prices drop as supermarkets race to stock shelves

> US retail meat sales jumped sharply in the week ending March 15 as shoppers stocked up during COVID-19 lockdowns. Processors diverted supply from foodservice, but the price paid to ranchers fell about 11% since January amid slaughter disruption fears.

- Date: 2020-04-01 · published 2020-04-01T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: disease · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/54259-meat-prices-rise-while-cattle-prices-drop-as-supermarkets-race-to-stock-shelves
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md), [Lean Hogs](https://feedsoft.ai/c/HOGS.md), [Chicken](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CHICKEN.md)

## Why it matters

Strong retail demand is not reaching live animal prices because packer margins and slaughter capacity are constrained, keeping pressure on cattle and hog values.

## Read by commodity

- HOGS: neutral
- CHICKEN: bullish ▲
- LCATTLE: bearish ▼

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2020-04-02 | [Why beef prices are up and cattle prices are down](https://feedsoft.ai/events/6286-why-beef-prices-are-up-and-cattle-prices-are-down.md) | -5.8% | -13.4% |
| LCATTLE | 2020-03-06 | [Analyst: Cattle markets roiled by the coronavirus](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5172-analyst-cattle-markets-roiled-by-the-coronavirus.md) | -4.7% | -5.8% |
| LCATTLE | 2018-10-29 | [Livestock Lowdown: Monday Midday Livestock Market Summary - Cattle Futures Giving Back Gains](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10112-livestock-lowdown-monday-midday-livestock-market-summary-cattle-futures-giving.md) | +3.1% | +3.8% |
| LCATTLE | 2024-05-01 | [LIVESTOCK-Bird-flu testing of US ground beef sinks CME cattle futures \| MarketScreener](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5411-livestock-bird-flu-testing-of-us-ground-beef-sinks-cme-cattle-futures.md) | -1.6% | +1.5% |
| LCATTLE | 2020-03-25 | [Cattle producers face price declines amid coronavirus pandemic](https://feedsoft.ai/events/7962-cattle-producers-face-price-declines-amid-coronavirus-pandemic.md) | +2.1% | -11.7% |
| HOGS | 2026-06-29 | [Dangerous Heat and Screwworm Cases Mean Cattle Prices Are Still Bullish. Hog Prices Need a Kick Higher.](https://feedsoft.ai/events/18952-dangerous-heat-and-screwworm-cases-mean-cattle-prices-are-still-bullish-hog.md) | +0.6% | +8.7% |
| HOGS | 2021-05-12 | [ASF, grain price volatility add risk to pig production \| Feed Strategy](https://feedsoft.ai/events/47095-asf-grain-price-volatility-add-risk-to-pig-production-feed-strategy.md) | -0.5% | +7.6% |
| HOGS | 2025-08-08 | [U.S. livestock: Cattle futures fall hard, hogs mixed - Grainews](https://feedsoft.ai/events/12276-u-s-livestock-cattle-futures-fall-hard-hogs-mixed-grainews.md) | +0.3% | -8.3% |

## Sources

- fooddive.com: https://www.fooddive.com/news/meat-prices-rise-while-cattle-prices-drop-as-supermarkets-race-to-stock-she/575019/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.