U.S. beef prices have been stubbornly high for a variety of reasons, including drought and reduced imports from Mexico due to a flesh-eating pest in cattle herds there.
U.S. beef prices have been stubbornly high for a variety of reasons, including drought and reduced imports from Mexico due to a flesh-eating pest in cattle herds there.
If American ranchers are struggling to produce competitive beef, why is that a problem? It’s not a critical good; just import it and let the industry shrink.
If as you say it’s domestic producers maintaining the price high by restricting supply, imports will encourage them to increase supply.
I am not the previous commenter, but it sounds like they are implying there is a monopoly on domestic beef. And if that’s true, clearly it should be broken up. Of course you could import goods to break a monopoly, but that doesn’t help the life of the people who were being screwed domestically, who should have a viable business model, but don’t because of unfair selling practices. Which is to say that both solutions might be reasonable.
I’m only talking about monopolies in general. So perhaps someone more knowledgeable might have something else to add. I don’t know anything specifically about the beef industry.