Wholesale prices for turkeys are at a record high thanks to the devastating H5N2 bird flu outbreak this spring. But analysts are predicting customers aren’t paying much more for their Thanksgiving birds than they did last year.
Wisconsin lost 550,000 turkeys to avian influenza last spring but overall, United States turkey farms euthanized 8 million birds.
Russ Whitman, vice president of the poultry division for analytical firm Urner Barry Publications, said there’s a shortage of turkeys for meat and breeders.
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“So, it’s really devastating on two fronts for the turkey industry and we’re nowhere near recovery at this point,” he said.
According to Whitman, wholesale prices are at $1.40 per pound, up 30 percent since 2013.
“Wholesale prices are the highest ever in recorded history but available supplies are also at the lowest,” he said.
That said, Whitman says retail prices for whole turkeys will likely be on par or slightly higher than last year with stores sell them at a loss to drive sales of other products.
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