food inflation
More competition will reduce meat prices in fight against inflation, says Biden
Acknowledging "we need to get inflation under control" as part of the economic recovery from the pandemic, President Biden said on Wednesday that the administration will inject competition into the highly consolidated meat industry to bring down prices at the grocery store. Meat prices soared by 14.8 percent during 2021, part of overall food inflation of 6.3 percent.
After months of climbing, food inflation reaches 6.3 percent
Meat prices fell in the final weeks of 2021, but food inflation climbed again, to an annual rate of 6.3 percent, said the Labor Department on Wednesday. The overall U.S. inflation rate of 7 percent for the past 12 months was the highest since June 1982.
Food prices rise at fastest pace in 41 years
The food inflation rate is up for the ninth month in a row and now matches the U.S. inflation rate of 7.9 percent a year, with double-digit increases in the price of meat, milk, and fresh fruit, said the government on Thursday. Prices for groceries rose even faster, 8.6 percent, than the overall food index, which includes food sold at restaurants, fast-food outlets, and company cafeterias.
Stability uncertain after global food prices surge 28 percent in 2021
World food prices soared by 28 percent during 2021, according to an index based on five major commodities, including cereal grains, meat, and sugar, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization on Thursday. The abrupt increase, as the world recovered from the economic collapse that accompanied the pandemic, ended five years of relative stability in the Food Price Index.
Food Price Index is highest ever, war in Ukraine a factor
The UN gauge of world food prices surged 3.9 percent and now is the highest in the 18-year history of the Food Price Index, said the Food and Agriculture Organization. Prices rose in part due to concerns, ahead of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, of grain supplies from the Black Sea region.
Year-on-year food inflation is highest since 2008
Pushed by high meat prices, the Food Price Index will surge by 3.5 percent this year, its largest increase since the 5.5 percent rise in 2008, said the USDA on Tuesday. Food prices typically rise about 2.4 percent a year.
World food security threatened by invasion of Ukraine
Global food supplies were put in jeopardy both directly and indirectly by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, said two analysts at the IFPRI think tank on Thursday. The war will constrict grain supplies in the short term, and it would disrupt the flow of fertilizer needed for crop production in many countries.
White House points inflation finger at meatpackers
Grocery prices are climbing at their fastest pace since 2008, with beef, pork and poultry leading the way — up nearly 13 percent since last November, said the government's new inflation report. The White House pinned the blame for surging meat prices on meatpackers "taking advantage of their market power to raise prices while increasing their own profit margins."
Meat prices climb on high demand and supply constraints
Strong consumer demand for meat and labor shortages at packing plants were factors in persistently high meat prices this year, said the USDA on Tuesday in a monthly report on food inflation. Meat prices were forecast to climb by 6.5 percent this year, double its long-term average of 3.2 percent annually.
Thanksgiving dinner will cost more. But how much?
Americans can cook the classic Thanksgiving meal featuring roast turkey and pumpkin pie for $5.33 a person, according to an informal survey of supermarket prices. But while all sides agree that ingredients for the meal will cost more this year, there is a wide range of viewpoints on how large the increase will be.
Food a factor in highest inflation rate in three decades
With the U.S. inflation rate at 6.2 percent — the highest it's been since 1990 — President Biden said the government was on the alert for price gouging as it worked to remove bottlenecks in the supply chain. Inflation has been on the rise since February, and soaring food prices, often led by meat, are an important factor.
High food prices have consumers and aid agencies scrambling
As food prices continue to rise, consumers around the country are being forced to adjust their habits and aid agencies are ramping up support. Overall, food prices were 4.6 percent higher in September than a year ago, driven largely by surging prices for meat, poultry and fish, which were up 10.4 percent, according to the Consumer Price Index.
Food prices rise, outpaced by U.S. inflation rate
Pulled by strong meat prices, September food prices were 4.6 percent higher than a year ago, said the Labor Department on Wednesday. The monthly Consumer Price Index report said the annual U.S. inflation rate was 5.4 percent in September, compared with 5.3 percent in the preceding month.
Americans’ spending on food plunged during pandemic
The pandemic and its accompanying economic slowdown prompted a dramatic 7.8 percent cutback in consumer spending on food in 2020, said two USDA economists. The reduction was more than double the impact of the Great Recession on food sales, partly because the pandemic temporarily shut down most of the food service sector.
Food prices rise as U.S. inflation moderates
Beef prices were 12 percent higher than a year ago, helping to drive overall food prices upward, said the Labor Department on Tuesday. The monthly Consumer Price Index report said food prices were 3.7 percent higher but the U.S. inflation rate slowed slightly in August.
Meat and seafood pull food prices higher
Americans will see the second year in a row of larger-than-usual food price increases, with food inflation now forecast at 3.5 percent this year, following the pandemic-driven 3.4 percent increase of 2020, said USDA economists on Thursday.
Prices surge for carryout and restaurant food
Meals at full-service restaurants cost 4.3 percent more than a year ago and prices at fast food outlets soared by 6.6 percent, said the Labor Department's monthly report on inflation. The increases were the largest for either category since record-keeping began on them in 1996, said the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Meal prices are a factor in surging U.S. inflation rate
Consumer prices rose by a larger-than-expected 5.4 percent over the past year, the biggest 12-month increase in the U.S. inflation rate since August 2008, said the Labor Department on Tuesday. Prices for restaurant meals, carry-out food, food from vending machines, and snacks were up by a strong 4.2 percent as the food service sector reopened after pandemic restrictions.
Trump says it’s hard to bring down prices
President-elect Donald Trump, who recently told an interviewer, “I won on groceries,” said in a Time magazine transcript released on Thursday, “It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up.” Meanwhile, a Purdue University poll found that consumers have lowered their expectations for food inflation.