With inventory being depleted and three glatt kosher meat packing plants out of service, the scramble for glatt kosher meat intensified in markets throughout the country.
The Iowa and Nebraska plants of Agriprocessors as well as the Minnesota plant of Alle Packing, which was shut down due to problems stemming from a fire in June, accounted for the slaughter of over 1,000 cattle a day. Despite discussion of a possible reorganization of Agri, meat cases in stores all over the county were empty this week.
Many stores reported increased sales of poultry and fish. One rabbi in the West told KosherToday: "This past Shabbos was the first in a long time that my wife made a pareve cholent.? The rabbi said that he was hoping to lug back several boxes of meat on a trip to attend a wedding in Brooklyn next week.
Meanwhile, prices continued to rise in markets where the meta was available and for poultry nationwide. Kosher food prices in general have been on the increase, as have prices for all foods. Higher feed costs for chickens, hogs and cattle, will lift U.S. food prices 7% in 2009, according to economists from the National Chicken Council and the consultancy Farm Econ. "The sizable increase in the cost of producing food has not been fully passed on to the consumer," said private consultant Bill Lapp, reported Reuters.
There was somewhat of a silver lining in that some sources were saying that lower fuel prices and a reduction in shipping costs may mitigate the increases. Wegmans said that it was anticipating slashing prices on hundreds of dairy, meat, produce, frozen and bakery items in anticipation of lower food and shipping costs in 2009.
In the meantime, kosher caterers in many parts of the country report that the shortages, price increases, and the effects of a sluggish economy are cutting into their businesses. Many customers are cutting back on the "extras,? which is traditionally a profit center for the caterers.
(Source: Kosher Today)
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=25775
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