U.S. red meat in cold storage dropped during December.

The USDA says 2023 ended with 933.76 million pounds of red meat in freezers, a decline of 9% from the end of 2022 due to a combination of solid demand and lower production. That included an 11% year-to-year decrease for beef to 485.127 million pounds and a 6% lower move in pork to 427.3 million pounds.

Poultry supplies were slightly larger than last year at 1.127 billion pounds as a 29% gain in turkey stocks to 244.142 million pounds post-holidays canceled out a 6% loss in chicken at 880.091 million pounds, which chicken also seeing comparatively better demand.

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