Butterball CEO: ‘Reasonable to Expect’ Higher Prices for Thanksgiving Turkeys

Appearing Tuesday on the Fox Business Network, Butterball CEO Jay Jandrain said it’s “reasonable to expect” higher prices for Thanksgiving turkeys this year as inflation and increased demand have led to a jump in food prices.

A transcript is as follows:

JAY JANDRAIN: We don’t expect there to be a [turkey] shortage overall, but we do see there are going to be fewer small turkeys this year. Our advice to consumers is go out to the stores and get them as early as you can. In fact, we have heard from many of our retailers who are ordering additional turkeys now because sales have been brisk a little earlier than usual, so we do expect a pretty significant sell through this season.

NEIL CAVUTO: I’m wondering if the rush of demand has led to a run-up in prices and even if you land the turkey you want, you’ll pay dearly for it?

JANDRAIN: We have seen food prices increase overall. That’s something we’ve all experienced recently. While we don’t set the prices for our retailers, it is reasonable to expect there will be some increase of costs this year.