food inflation
After roller-coaster ride, food prices are back at starting point
Global food prices skyrocketed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine last February, but they have returned to earth, said the FAO Food Price Index, based on monthly changes in a basket of food commodities.
Ag groups argue over cost of Thanksgiving dinner
Turkey farmers and processors yelped over a farm group survey on Wednesday that said high turkey prices were driving up the cost of a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner. “Turkeys and good deals are available!” said the National Turkey Federation in one of the few times the American Farm Bureau Federation has been challenged on its spot checks of holiday grocery prices.
Food inflation declines for second month in a row
Lower beef prices helped pull down the food inflation rate to an annualized 10.9 percent in October, the second month in a row of a decline, said the Labor Department in the Consumer Price Index report.
Persistent food inflation will extend into 2023, says USDA
The high food inflation rate this year will bleed into 2023, said the Agriculture Department on Tuesday, raising its forecast for the new year to 3.5 percent. It was the first adjustment since USDA economists began inflation forecasts for 2023 in July.
Food inflation rate slows for first time in 16 months
U.S. food prices are 11.2 percent higher than a year ago, modestly lower than the inflation rate of the previous month and ending a string of month-over-month increases dating from June 2021, said the government on Thursday.
USDA: Highest grocery price inflation since 1974
Grocery prices will rise an average of 11 percent this year, the largest year-on-year increase since 1974, when prices soared by a torrid 14.9 percent, said the USDA. The monthly Food Price Outlook said grocery inflation would ebb to a near-normal 2.5 percent in 2023.
Make school lunches free again, say House Democrats
Nearly one of every four Democrats in the House signed a letter to congressional leaders on Thursday, asking for a return to universal free school lunches and breakfasts.
Political views shape how Americans see food inflation
Politically conservative Americans tend to overestimate and liberals to underestimate the annual inflation rate for food, according to a poll of 1,200 consumers by Purdue University. The difference in views is 3 to 4 percentage points, said Purdue researchers on Wednesday.
Food inflation rate is up while U.S. rate inches down
Food prices mushroomed by 11.4 percent in the past year, said the government's monthly inflation report on Tuesday. August was the 15th month in a row the food inflation rate increased, starting from 2.2 percent in May 2021.
After relentless increases, food inflation rate stands still
Higher consumer demand and lower supplies are driving up pork and egg prices, but after increasing for six months in a row, the U.S. food inflation rate for 2022 is unchanged this month, said the USDA on Thursday.
Food inflation rate rises for 14th month; Americans pare grocery lists
More and more Americans are switching to generic brands or looking for discounts at the grocery store in response to sustained high food inflation, now running at 10.9 percent — the highest rate since the inflation-plagued late 1970s. Food prices continue to rise even though the overall U.S. inflation rate has slowed notably, said the Labor Department on Wednesday.
Ag employers struggling to retain workers, says report
Foreign-born workers are an essential part of the U.S. food supply chain, and if the nation wants to stabilize food prices, it’s going to need a lot more of them, according to new research released this week by the American Immigration Council. The group, which advocates for immigrants throughout the U.S., found that ag employers are struggling to retain enough workers amid a national labor crisis that is fueling higher prices at grocery stores.
Food prices are high, but what lies ahead?
Rising prices — especially for food — are grabbing headlines, but the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, slumping consumer demand, and supply chain disruptions are all feeding into an exceedingly muddy economic picture. Yet when it comes to food and commodity inflation, the worst may be over.
Food is a factor in inflation double whammy
Wholesale prices rocketed by a near-record 11.3 percent for the year ending in June, said the Labor Department on Thursday, a day after it reported that consumer prices had soared 9.1 percent during same period. Food was an inflationary factor in both reports, although some analysts saw signs that the momentum for higher prices was easing.
Global food prices moderate after hitting all-time high
The FAO Food Price Index, a barometer of prices for food commodities, rocketed to a record high immediately after Russia invaded Ukraine and disrupted food supply chains. Now it is down for the third month in a row, with large global harvests at hand, but Ukraine is a new entrant on the list of nations needing food aid, said the UN agency.
Commodity prices soften, although still elevated
Steered by fears of recession and a clearer picture of this year’s global grain harvest, the sky-high commodity prices fueled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are losing momentum, analysts said on Thursday. The USDA was likely to scale back its estimates of record-high farm-gate prices for this year’s wheat and soybean crops despite the uncertainties caused by warfare in the Black Sea region.
World hunger rate rises quickly as global economy stutters
Nearly one in 10 people worldwide suffer from hunger, an increase of 150 million since the pandemic struck in 2020, and the numbers are sure to worsen, said the annual UN hunger report on Wednesday. “The global price spikes that we are seeing as a result of the crisis in Ukraine threaten to push countries around the world into famine,” said the leader of the World Food Program.
Link between commodity prices and inflation is weak
There is little correlation between commodity prices and inflation rates, said a group of agricultural economists writing at the farmdoc daily blog. "Current high inflation rates do not necessarily signal a continuing period of high commodity prices," they said, pointing to "plateaus" when corn and soybeans cluster around long-term price averages.