The United States is headed for its fifth year in a row of lower-than-normal food inflation, with prices forecast to rise by a marginal 0.5 percent this year. In a recent report on food inflation, the USDA said poultry will cost less at the grocery store than it forecast earlier this year, due to abundant supplies of the meat.
In its monthly Food Price Outlook, the USDA estimated poultry prices will rise by 0.5 percent, compared with its previous forecast of a 1.5 percent increase. “Retail chicken price inflation has remained relatively low in 2017, partly due to an increase in broiler production,” said the USDA. “Furthermore, a strong U.S. dollar contributed to more chicken broilers remaining in the U.S. market, which, in turn, places downward pressure on retail chicken prices.”
Americans spend roughly 58 cents of their food dollar on groceries and 42 cents on “food away from home,” including carryout meals, restaurant dining, and institutional food service. Poultry accounts for about 2.5 cents of food dollar spending. On average, food prices rise by 2.5 percent annually, but the yearly rates since 2012 have been lower than the 20-year average. Last year, prices rose by a negligible 0.3 percent overall and grocery prices fell by 1.3 percent, the first deflation for groceries since 1964.