Party-fiends and sports fans can rejoice, a seasonal favorite has fallen to prices not seen since 2018.
Chicken wings, which experienced a surge in pricing early in the pandemic, have become cheaper. That's according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's price index for chicken wings, which indicates the price for wings has fallen to roughly $1.68 as of July.
Why the cheaper chicken? The same mechanism that has spiked the costs of products for the last two years is precisely what's brining it down: supply and demand. Fabio Sandri, CEO of Pilgrim's Pride, recently stated on the company's most recent earnings call that demand for wings from home-bound eaters exploded in the beginning of the pandemic, having reached more than $3 per pound. Many QSRs pivoted to boneless wings, which are actually breast meat, thereby brining on a fast decline to the cost of wings.
According to Axios, the price of wings got up to $3.25 a pound in May 2021. The report also indicates that the volume of chicken wings in cold storage has increased for the second straight month, and similarly, has been at the highest level since 2018.
