Beef demand climbs, NCBA reports

Centennial, Colo.-The Cattlemen's Beef Board just released numbers showing a 6 percent increase in beef demand for 2003.

Final results for the year indicate that beef demand increased more than preliminary numbers had estimated, advancing the Beef Demand Index 5.76 percent above year-earlier levels. The index is calculated based on a series of formulas developed and monitored by Dr. Wayne Purcell, director of the Reasearch Institute on Livestock Pricing through Virginia Tech University's Department of Agricultural Applied Economics.

The index reflects several specific factors, including per capita consumption and consumer spending for beef.

Chairman and producer Nelson Curry, says that with the strong demand in 2003, the demand index now has increased more than 16 percent since 1998, when it reversed its 20-year decline. He adds that early indicators suggest that the growth in demand continued through the first part of 2004.