Market-share spending for beef (Cattle-FAX, 1999) decreased, from 1980 through 1998, by 13.7 percentage points (from 53.9%, to 40.2%) but stabilized and began to increase in the Fall quarter of 1999 (Cattle Buyer’s Weekly, 1999). In April 2000, Cattle-FAX (2000a) reported that “Beef production in the year 2000 has been a bit larger than previously anticipated while beef demand has more than offset the increase; beef demand is expected to remain strong in 2001.” In June 2000, Cattle-FAX (2000b) supported its previous contention saying “USDA’s all-Choice retail beef price was record high in May 2000 at 3.09 dollar per pound which breaks the previous record (3.04 dollar per pound) set in May 1993 and is a 9% increase from year-ago levels. These record prices continue to offer evidence that beef demand remains strong.”
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