The last time Mr. Catsimatidis spoke out publicly was in July when he was warning:
Grocery Prices Could Rise 10 to 14 Percent By October, Grocery Chain CEO Warns
Here's his latest thinking via the New York Post, January 10:
The recent impact of Omicron on the US supply chain has caused grocery prices to increase and could soon impact the supply of meat and eggs, according to billionaire Gristedes CEO John Catsimatidis.
“Omicron is taking its toll at different levels of the supply chain, whether it’s the warehouses, whether it’s the selectors, the drivers, the loaders — and as they call in sick, there are interruptions in the system,” Catsimatidis told Todd Piro during an appearance on “Fox & Friends First.”
Catsimatidis went on to say that many of these interruptions will continue over the next six weeks as the COVID-19 variant impacts the labor market. The United Refining Company owner added that the Northeast in particular is seeing the price of various products, including eggs, poultry and beef, go up because of low supply and high demand.
“Let’s say they normally sell 10 million pounds of chicken. They figured if they raise the price 10 or 20 cents, some people will buy less chicken and the people that really want to buy the chicken — it will be there for them to buy,” said Catsimatidis.
He added that the price hikes and supply chain shortages have been exacerbated by the rising cost of oil, which is necessary for transportation....
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Bringing to mind a couple thoughts from last September and October:
"Rabobank: If Something Simply Isn't Available, Does That Make It Cheap Or Expensive?"
See also our intro to September 18's "Restaurants Remove Crab From Menus Due To Skyrocketing Prices":
This is exactly what the Rabo analyst was referring to in "Rabobank: You Know Who Else Had Low(er) Reported Inflation But Nothing On The Shelves? The Soviets". If you just pull it from the shelves (menus) no trades take place et voilà, no inflation!
