International Ban on U.S. Beef Means Lower Prices for Americans

If you`ve been keeping up with the low-carb diet craze, you could be saving some money soon. That`s because beef prices, once high because of those diets, are now making their way back down. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is predicting a ten to fifteen percent decline at the second half of the year. But a local butcher sasy he`s already noticed about a 13% decrease in his beef prices. Kent Berry says back in November prices were higher than he`d ever seen before. But today, he`s selling beef for $3 per pound less than what he sold it for then. Since the discovery of one Holstein stricken with mad cow in Washington state, 50 countries have banned U.S. beef imports. "I suspect as long as the other countries have a ban on our imports, beef prices will continue to fall a little bit," Berry said. The USDA also precits the lower prices mean Americans will be eating more beef this year. On average, they eat about 65 pounds a year, but they expect that amount to rise by about three pounds because of lower prices. The U.S. produces about 26 billion pounds of beef every year. About 10% of that is exported to other countries.