BILLINGS — The war in Iran is pushing global fuel and shipping costs higher, putting upward pressure on already expensive grocery bills for consumers. However, local meat retailers say a domestic cattle shortage is the primary driver behind rising beef prices.
At the Meat Palace in Billings, owner Jason McKittrick works with beef every day and has noticed the steady increase.
Watch locals talk about the prices:
"Beef prices have gone up," McKittrick said Tuesday. "It probably started a couple years ago, to be honest with you."
According to the USDA, the average price of beef was about $6.70 per pound in February after rising sharply over the past five years. On Tuesday, a pound of ground beef at Albertsons hovered between $9 and $10, an increase of around 30 percent.
When asked if the war in Iran causing diesel prices to rise or a lower supply of cattle at home is driving the cost, McKittrick instead pointed to domestic pressures.
"I think it's more so because of our supply of beef we have in our country right now," McKittrick said, adding, "Gas prices have a little bit to do with it, but not in the big picture. It's very minute."
Montana Farmers Union President Walter Schweitzer agrees the war is not yet a major factor in the cost of beef.
"Our beef prices haven't changed because of the war. Maybe a little bit in transportation costs," Schweitzer said.
Those transportation costs can hit food producers hard, with the cost of diesel cutting into their bottom lines.
"The price of fuel has gone way up. And the price of fertilizer has gone way up," Schweitzer said.
Schweitzer said the increase happened overnight.
"Fact that the diesel has gone up a dollar and is still going up means that their costs have increased anywhere from $200 to $500 a day," Schweitzer said.
Both McKittrick and Schweitzer spoke to MTN News before President Donald Trump announced a two-week cease fire in the war, though it's unclear how that action will affect prices.
The increase consumers see at the grocery store could be a mix of all these factors, leaving business owners keeping an eye on current events.
"I just try to roll with the ups and downs of beef prices. They're fluctuating all the time. They go up for a couple weeks, and then sometimes they'll drop back down for a couple weeks, and I just try to play that out," McKittrick said.
