Diet shifts, competitive pricing boost pork demand

The vice president of the National Pork Board says he’s optimistic about consumer demand in 2026.

Chad Groves, a producer from Kansas, says shifts in diet trends last year could continue to have an impact. “You have the introduction of GLP-1 drugs. Doctors have put a significant focus on protein and protein consumption and maintaining that protein consumption. But also as we got into the back-half of the year, we had the inversion of the food pyramid with protein back at the top.”

He says pork consumption is higher among older consumers than younger age groups, and competitive pricing is improving that. “When you look at consumption per capita, as you look through different ag groups, younger age groups closer to 10 pounds per capita consumption, the average at 50, but then you have older generations that index closer to 70. It gives us an opportunity to pull them into that category much younger.”

Groves says certain cutouts are performing very well in the market. “More and more consumers when you look at the price of a brisket versus the price of a pork butt, it’s very close in terms of weight, and you look at the value in order to feed a big group out of a pork butt, that puts in a good position to meet those consumers.”