Dive Summary:
- After numerous news outlet reported that Super Bowl festivities may be affected by a national chicken wing shortage, experts have come together and seen that 'shortage' may be the wrong word.
- While there certainly were less wings produced this year, demand is also slightly down, thus rather than "shortages," the more likely scenario is just a price increase.
- The numbers overall have remained fairly steady, with production and total consumption fluctuating only a few percentage points, however the price per pound is up 14% since last year.
From the article:
The USDA says wholesale wings are currently at about $2.11 a pound, up 14% from last year. Not bad for an item that prior to the ‘90s was considered a nearly useless byproduct by the poultry industry. The National Chicken Council notes that prices typically rice in the fourth quarter of the year and usually peak in January prior to the Super Bowl. However, “demand for wings is proving more and more to be inelastic," Roenigk says. “With the rising number of restaurants with menus dedicated to wings, the return of the NHL hockey season, the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament and then the start of grilling season, wing demand should remain hot.
