With turkey prices rising, Thanksgiving dinner this year might end up being one of the priciest holiday meals on record.
According to the American Farm Bureau’s annual Thanksgiving dinner survey, a holiday feast for a family of 10 featuring turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie will cost $53.31, a 14% increase over last year. A 16-pound turkey will cost $4.60 more than a year ago.
That price hike is due, in part, to U.S. turkey farmers being battered by supply chain issues, including labor shortages in processing plants and higher costs, including on feed, transportation and packaging materials.
The wholesale price of frozen whole tom turkeys weighing 16 to 24 pounds was $1.36 per pound as of Nov. 19, 18% higher than a year earlier.
And according to analysts, turkeys are also in shorter supply.
“One thing that you probably will notice at the grocery store this year is more bare shelves, as we move into the holiday season,” said Trey Malone, an agricultural economist at Michigan State University. “That doesn’t necessarily mean that we haven’t produced enough, it just means that the supply chain disruptions have created more uncertainty along the system.”
More than 109 million Americans are expected to travel for Thanksgiving, and 65% of Americans expect Covid to affect their Thanksgiving celebrations.
So what can consumers expect when they shop for their Thanksgiving turkey this year and what impact will the supply chain crisis have on the nation’s turkey farmers?
Watch the video to find out what’s next for U.S. turkey farmers.
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