The increase in at-home food consumption because of the coronavirus pandemic required the animal protein sector to shift supplies of meat intended for restaurants to grocery stores.

A new report by CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange found that although animal protein supplies are returning to normal and foodservice sales have improved, they may not return to pre-pandemic levels until late 2022.

Will Sawyer is the lead animal protein economist for CoBank.

“While we are ready and waiting and very eager to get things back to normal, we’re going to have lost a lot of that foodservice demand just because the restaurants aren’t there,” he says.

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