NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The COVID-19 omicron variant could cause a meat and egg shortage nationwide as the virus continues to cause delays in the U.S. supply chain.
John Catsimatidis, CEO of the New York City supermarket chain Gristedes, told Todd Piro during an interview with “Fox & Friends First” that omicron has caused a huge distribution of the supply chain.
“Omicron is taking its toll at different levels of the supply chain,” he said during the appearance. “Whether it’s the warehouses, whether it’s the selectors, the drivers, the loaders — and as they call in sick, there are interruptions.”
Catsimatidis said that though Gristedes has multiple suppliers, everyone is feeling the impact of the rise in sickouts, and retailers are driving up the prices of beef, eggs and chicken in order to keep product on the shelves for more consumers.
“If they normally sell 10 million pounds of chicken, they figure if they raise the price 10, 20 cents, some people will buy less chicken and the people that really want to buy the chicken, the chicken will be there for them to buy,” he explained.
Though, he warned that as supply continues to be squeezed, some products may take longer to get to supermarket shelves.
Catsimatidis also said the rising cost of oil is also having a dramatic impact on the price of food and called on the Biden administration to seek out ways to cut the price of gas.
“The price of all these products went up because the price of oil, the price of gasoline, increased the price of transportation,” he said.
He suggested the U.S. look into sourcing oil from Canada and Alaska to help reduce the price of gasoline, which he believes will lead to a decrease in the price of meats and produce.
Gristedes was founded in 1888 and currently operates about 30 stores in Manhattan, Westchester County and at least one in Brooklyn.
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