U.S. peanut farmers are enjoying a boon amidst the global pandemic as peanut butter sales have skyrocketed. The hope is that this trend is here to stay as people are reminded of how much they like peanut butter.
Speaking to Agri-Pulse, a trusted source on policy and agricultural news in Washington. D.C, Patrick Archer, CEO of the American Peanut Council, said, “All of our companies are running at full capacity to meet all of the demand.”
In March, sales of peanut butter were up 75% on the same month last year, as people stockpiled jars of the shelf-staple. Sales in April were less ‘stratospheric’ but still an impressive 20% more than in April 2019.
Peanut butter sales typically rise in times of economic downturn, as families turn to affordable protein sources but, as Archer explains, peanut butter’s current popularity is also down to the fact that it is one of the most sought-after items at food banks.
Despite the positives, the pandemic has also brought some challenges for the industry. With the baseball parks where Americans consume some 2.3 million pounds of peanuts each year currently out of action, The Peanut Board is working on new promotions to get more in-shell peanuts into grocery stores.
Peanut butter photo credit: Matias Garabedian from Montreal, Canada / CC BY-SA (creativecommons.org)