Oh No, There’s a Chicken Wing Shortage in Utica/Rome
Maybe you've gone out for wing night at Cavallos or the Killabrew recently, and no matter where you go you can't help but notice the price of wings has gone up. Or maybe you've noticed that wings are no longer available at some places locally. That's because there's a chicken wing shortage.
According to Syracuse.com, the recent supply shortfall follows an increase in the price of wings that started last year and picked up speed a few months ago. Many reports locally and nationwide are that wholesale wing costs to bars and restaurants are up 40% to 50% since last year.
The National Chicken Council says that bad winter weather and power outages in major poultry-producing states like Texas and Arkansas are to blame for the shortage. Others say that the pandemic is to blame for people staying home, cooking, and not ordering out. Further, some say that air fryers may be to blame, encouraging consumers to make their own wings at home.
The NCC also shows servings of chicken wings in restaurants were up by 7 percent in 2020 versus 2019, despite an 11-percent decline in visits to commercial restaurants. The total U.S. wing retail sales during the pandemic were up 10.3 percent compared to the previous year and sales of in-store frozen wings shot up by 37.2 percent.
Is There A Timeframe To Expect Wing Status Back To Normal?
The short answer here? No. There's a lot of factors that play into the wholesale prices of chicken wings. Ultimately, it's something that we'll all just have to wait for.
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