Puerto Rico Senate committee hears agriculture officials on meat-price surge; department cites grain and freight costs, unveils production incentives

SAN JUAN — The Comisión de Desarrollo Económico, Servicios Esenciales y Asuntos del Consumidor of the Senate of Puerto Rico held a public hearing Aug. 4, 2021, to investigate sudden increases in food prices, with particular attention to fresh meat. Secretary of Agriculture Ramón González Beirós and agronomist Jorge Campos Merced testified that international grain-price spikes and higher freight costs are principal drivers of domestic price increases and described steps the department is taking to expand local production and protect consumers.

"Según el Chicago Mercantile Exchange, el precio del maíz ha incrementado en un sesenta por ciento en mayo del veinte veintiuno en comparación con el año pasado," Jorge Campos told the committee, adding that soya rose about 50% and wheat about 33% in the same period. Campos said shipping costs and rising oil prices have added up to roughly a 20% increase in maritime transport fees, which feed into final retail prices.

The department presented production figures: Puerto Ricans consume about 123 million pounds of beef annually, of which roughly 13.5 million pounds — about 11% — is produced locally. On poultry, officials said the main local processor (Torrico) yields roughly 60–70 million pounds per year against island consumption of roughly 350 million pounds. "Aquí hay un espacio," Secretary González said, arguing the island can increase output with policy changes and investments.

Officials proposed and described several initiatives meant to increase domestic supply and blunt future price shocks. They said the department has redirected regional programs to prioritize small and medium farmers, will subsidize wages for agricultural labor under a salary-subsidy program, and plans to finance seeding of improved pastures and precision‑agriculture techniques to raise yields. Secretary González said the salary-subsidy administrative order was under review by the Financial Oversight Board (Junta de Supervisión Fiscal) and that the department expects to seek final approval in an upcoming virtual meeting.

González and Campos argued pasture-based beef production in Puerto Rico should be less sensitive to grain-price volatility than confined systems, and that with improved pastures and uptake of incentives the island could roughly double certain beef outputs on less land. Campos quantified a potential increase: "nosotros podríamos producir veinticinco millones de libras de carne de res" under the measures described. On timing, officials gave differing time horizons for measurable impact: the secretary said to expect "dos, tres años" for significant results while another comment in the record referenced "tres, cuatro años" as a longer horizon for broader change.

Senators pressed officials on how much of the retail price rise reflects farmgate vs. intermediary margins. Campos said the department lacks the tools to measure retail margin decomposition precisely: "Nosotros no tenemos forma de medir cuál es el margen de ganancia." He suggested possible causes between farm and supermarket — intermediaries, supermarket margins or other costs — and urged investigation.

Lawmakers also raised logistics concerns. Committee members asked whether recent port congestion and diverted containers could cause imminent shortages. The secretary acknowledged container disruptions and identified specific imported pre‑mixes used in swine feed that were delayed; he said the department was seeking supply alternatives in the U.S. and that a failure to source replacements could create problems in two to three days for affected producers.

Committee members discussed whether the salary-subsidy and other incentives should be elevated from administrative order to statute so they remain across administrations. Secretary González said the current incentive code (Lei 60 de 2019) allows both implementation methods and that the department had regained delegated incentives from the Department of Economic Development.

On consumer protections, the Agriculture Department said it will monitor labeling and enforcement to prevent unfair competition that misleads shoppers about freshness or origin — for example, listing frozen imports as “fresh” — and otherwise guard against actors who might exploit shortages with excessive margins.

The committee did not take formal votes at the hearing. Chair (identified in the transcript as "Gretchenhau, presidenta de la comisión") thanked the witnesses, invited continued collaboration and recessed the hearing for a brief break.

Next steps noted during the session included continued follow-up between senators and the Agriculture Department on incentive structuring, monitoring of the Financial Oversight Board decision on the salary-subsidy order, and further inquiry into retail margins and labeling enforcement.