October 19

10/19 – Wings are hot – and I don’t mean spicy. USDA weighted average whole wing prices, that were sub-$1.00 in April, have soared to $2.20 per pound. Wings are one of those snacks and/or meals that hold up great for delivery and can be easily reheated at home. Wings sales at both grocery (prepared) and for food service take-out are red hot. Many restaurants in recent years had defaulted to boneless wings due to cost and customer preference. But these don’t hold up as well for off-premise consumption. Year to date chicken slaughter is running about 1% below a year ago. With only two wings per bird, and no real benefit from weight gain, wing supplies have been fairly constrained in 2020. Even so, wing prices probably won’t hold current levels. Look for prices to decline to near $1.90 in December, and then likely move higher, peaking ahead of the Super Bowl (Feb 7).