WASHINGTON – October was a record-setting month for frozen chicken and red meat stocks, the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the US Dept. of Agriculture said in its Cold Storage report.
On Oct. 31, red meat supplies in freezers slipped 3 percent from September to 1.16 billion lbs., but advanced 21 percent from last year. However, total red meat is a record high for the month of October, since the data was first recorded in 1916, USDA noted.
Total pounds of beef in freezers climbed 3 percent from the previous month to 511,576,000 lbs. and increased 34 percent from a year ago. Frozen pork supplies declined 8 percent from the previous month to 602,656,000 lbs. but climbed 13 percent higher compared to last year. Frozen pork belly stocks totaled 17,796,000 lbs. in October, up 64 percent compared to September, but down 39 percent from a year ago, according to USDA.
Total chicken stocks set a record for the month of October, since the data was first recorded in 1939, USDA said. Total stocks of frozen chicken were 862,685,000 lbs., up 8 percent from the previous month and up 31 percent from last year. Total pounds of turkey in freezers dropped 21 percent from last month to 355,977,000 lbs. and down 9 percent from Oct.31, 2014.
Total frozen poultry supplies on Oct. 31 were down 3 percent from September to 1,224,479,000 lbs. but up 16 percent from a year ago.
