(ZEROHEDGE) – As U.S. consumers shift from beef to chicken due to elevated supermarket prices, exacerbated by a rapid decline in US cattle herds, one of the world’s largest chicken producers has issued a dire warning that chicken prices could soon increase.
Bloomberg reports that Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. and the industry as a whole have developed ‘hatchery issues’, which means a large number of eggs in incubators aren’t hatching.
On Thursday, Pilgrim’s Chief Executive Officer Fabio Sandri told investors during an earnings call that the hatchery issues stem from a new breed of rooster (Frankenchickens?) that requires closer management, indicating this is the primary cause of the decline in fertility rates industrywide.