(Bloomberg) -- Tyson Foods Inc. cut its outlook for meat sales this year as consumers switch to cheaper foods due to inflation.

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The biggest US meat company in a Monday earnings statement estimated full-year sales between $53 billion to $54 billion, below an earlier forecast of $55 billion to $57 billion. Shares fell more than 8% before the start of normal trading in New York.

“While the current protein market is challenging, we have a strong growth strategy in place and are bullish on our long-term outlook,” Tyson Chief Executive Officer Donnie King said in the statement.

Consumers have been buying fewer steaks and burgers to reduce food costs while drought-hit cattle ranchers have been slashing herds, bringing cattle prices to a record. That’s squeezing meat companies like Tyson. Its beef sales in the second quarter fell 2.9% from a year ago.

Tyson posted increased poultry sales and a slight decline in sales of prepared foods in the second quarter compared with a year earlier. Prices for pork dropped more than 10%.

(Updates with background starting in fourth paragraph)

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