Americans will see negligible increases in the supermarket prices of fresh fruits and vegetables this year despite continued drought in California, the No. 1 state for produce, says the Food Price Outlook. In the monthly report, the USDA estimated an increase of 0.5 percent this year for fresh produce, down from its July forecast of 1 percent and its June estimate of a 3-percent increase. “This is not to say that the drought has had no impact on fresh produce prices—other factors, such as the strength of the U.S. dollar and low oil prices, have placed downward pressure on retail fruit and vegetable prices,” said the department. Low-priced imports have moderated fruit and vegetable prices.
Half of the fresh fruit and a quarter of the fresh vegetables consumed by Americans are imported. And while California leads the nation in fruits and vegetables, dominating categories such as broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery, lettuce, peppers and processing tomatoes, it grows a minority of cabbage, cucumbers, potatoes, pumpkins, squash, sweet corn, sweet potatoes and fresh market tomatoes, says the USDA.
Compared to a year ago, fresh fruit and vegetables are 2.9 percent lower in price.
Egg prices are nearly 25-percent higher than in July 2014 because of the bird-flu epidemic, which hit Midwestern flocks producing eggs for table consumption. The average advertised price for a dozen Large white eggs, Grade A or better, is $2.78, up 40 percent in three weeks.
The benchmark price for eggs in California is $3.61, up by $1.45 a dozen in a year, says the San Francisco Chronicle. It says the bird-flu epidemic and “a perfect storm of additional factors in California, namely the roll-out of Proposition 2 and higher chicken feed prices, are wreaking havoc on Bay Area supermarket egg prices and limiting the supply of eggs to local restaurants, ice cream shops and bakeries.” The Chronicle says California egg production fell by 18 percent in the 12 months ending in May. Proposition 2 requires egg farms to provide enough space for hens to move freely. California farms produce one-third to one-half of the eggs consumed in the state.