The current economic recession has had an impact on goat meat consumption, particularly in and around New York City. Prospects for an increase in general demand for goat meat appear to be good, partially because immigration, which averaged 61,150 persons per month in the last decade will likely continue at an unabated pace and many will be goat consumers, Figure 5. Also, the economic status of many recent immigrants continues to improve. Contrarily, acceptance of goat meat as standard fare will likely increase slowly among consumers with traditional allegiance to beef and pork. To date, these are relatively minor forces, but this niche market seems open to development.
Recent arrivals are more likely to be Asian or Hispanic.
For example, in Detroit, the largest share of recent immigrants comes from India. Hispanic populations are highly concentrated. As might be expected, the makeup of foreign born in the various metropolitan areas differs in rather extreme degree. While foreign born residents in Houston and Los Angeles come mostly from Central and South America, persons with European ancestry comprise the largest group in New York City. In Miami, most foreign born immigrated from the West Indies.