The Bureau of Economic Analysis says the cost of nearly every food category continues to rise month after month with meat spiking the highest amount.
TAMPA, Fla. — If you have been to the grocery store lately, you’ve probably noticed grocery prices are going up.
Whether it’s eggs or meat, the cost of nearly every food or products continues to rise. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, over the past two years, beef and veal saw the biggest spike of 20.2 percent, eggs at 10.4 percent, poultry at 8.6 percent and pork at 8.5 percent.
So, why is this happening? We know back in March, the coronavirus pandemic interrupted grocery store supply chains, causing prices to go up. For example, something as simple as egg companies not having enough cartons to package their items.
Also in April, the coronavirus sickened thousands of workers at meat processing plants causing some to temporarily shut down, putting another significant strain on the meat industry.
But, that was several months ago. Why are we still seeing food prices go up every month?
What we’re seeing happen is grocery store supply chains slowly get back to normal, but food pricing is not. Agricultural business experts hypothesize that with little push back from consumers on rising prices, there’s no motivation to stop. And, companies may be trying to recover some of the losses from earlier in the year by keeping prices up.
We reached out to Publix, Kroger, Whole Foods, Trader Joes and Aldi’s asking about recent spikes, and we’re still waiting to hear back.
Unemployment numbers continue to rise, and millions of Americans just lost the $600 weekly federal unemployment benefits putting more strain on finances.
Which begs the question: As food prices continue to rise month after month, when will it stop?
To see how much all food categories have increased in price, view this latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Recent Comments