A U.S. meat shortage is underway due to the novel coronavirus. As a result, some grocery stores are starting to limit meat purchases.
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The following is a list of stores that are limiting meat purchases as the U.S. meat shortage grows.
- Costco (NASDAQ:COST) — This retailer is only allowing customers to purchase up to three meat items. That includes beef, pork and poultry products.
- Kroger (NYSE:KR) — Customers may find limits on ground beef and pork purchases at their local stores. However, these limitations are on a store-by-store basis.
- Giant Eagle — Anyone shopping at this grocery chain can only buy two total meat items per trip.
- Safeway — This time around the limitations are only for customers shopping at Southern California stores. This only lets customers purchase two packages of beef, pork and chicken.
- Roche Bros. Supermarkets — The limitation here is two for two packages of each meat type, which include beef, pork and chicken.
Phil Lempert, a supermarket expert, told CBS Los Angeles the following.
“We don’t have to hoard. It’s true that we’re down to about 60% capacity in our meat processing facilities, again across all of those types of animal proteins, but it will come back, it will come back soon.”
The U.S. meat shortage comes as some factories are closing down due to the coronavirus. That was the case for Smithfield Foods, which shut down a meat factory in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. As a result, the company donated a large supply of meat to food pantries.
Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) stock also got a boost late in April on meat shortage concerns. The idea is that shortages could result in more customers buying its plant-based meat alternatives.
As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.