Drought causes wing prices to fly sky high

blog by S.J. Velasquez • September 08, 2012 @ 11:41am

As gross as these rainy days may be, a little precipitation is a necessary ingredient for affordable chicken wings.

According to a Bloomberg Businessweek article, the price of Buffalo wings has increased drastically due to the current drought, which is affecting the cost of feed for chickens.

Poultry suppliers such as Tyson Foods Inc. have boosted prices and cut supplies, according to the article. Other popular foods like nacho chips are also more expensive this year, due to lack of rain and damaged crops.

It’s been a particularly rough year for corn farmers, the New York Times reports. The price of corn and wheat increased 25 percent from June to July.

“Chicken-wing prices are high, but they’re going to get worse,” Phil Kinecki from Duff’s Famous Wings said in the Bloomberg article. “A bunch of our vendors said they’re expecting rises in chicken and beef prices. We’re pretty worried about it.”

It’s been a rough year for farmers, in general—not just those producing chicken feed. A warm spring, followed by a sudden cold spell, destroyed huge portions of New York state’s crops.

Photo courtesy of Flickr / dphiffer.

TAGGED: buffalo wings, chicken wings, corn, crops, duff's, farmers, price increase, wings