Grocery prices should be increasing at the
normal rate of inflation for the rest year
around two and half to three and half percent
according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
Economic Research Service.
But that’s a balancing act across all of
the major food price categories, and even
right now we see some food prices surging,
some food prices falling and some food prices
are flat.
And one of those surging food price categories
is beef, which had already gone up over ten
percent in 2011.
And now we’re projecting an increase of
another four to five percent in 2012, which
means it would be among the biggest movers
again for 2012.
And rising beef prices could have a ripple
effect as consumers look for cheaper meat.
We expect poultry prices, including turkey,
to increase about three to four percent in
2012, which is higher than our projection
for overall grocery prices.
And while meat eaters will be paying more,
salad lovers will be spending less.
Vegetable prices are ten percent lower than
they were at this time in 2011 and they continue
to tick down.
Lettuce prices are down ten percent from this
time a year ago and tomato prices are down
twenty percent from this time a year ago.
In Washington, D.C. for the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, I’m Bob Ellison.
