Dive Summary:

• Demand for meat and meat products is expected to increase in 2013 as a rising middle class in economies like India and China begin bolstering sales.
• This demand, however, could be restrained by the large increase in feed costs thanks to the devastating drought in the U.S..
• Analysts believe that these rising prices won't be covered by the meat processors, but passed on to the consumer, hampering what could have been a record breaking year for the meat industry.

From the article:

Researchers predicted robust demand in 2013 but warned of a recent rise in feed costs that could eat into margins for meat companies. The report says that demand has increased for corn as livestock feed and yields suffered due to 2012’s drought. That has led to a 17 percent decrease in product inventories. Meat companies, unlikely to absorb the increases in input cost, will likely increase prices alongside rising feed costs. That increase is possible due to increasing global demand from the growing middle class in India, China and Brazil.