It's not just you... groceries are getting more expensive. The average price of all grocery store food purchases as of April 2021 increased 5.7% from the same period in late April 2020.
Food prices have been nibbling into household budgets and fattening grocery bills since COVID-19’s emergence, figures show.
When it comes to rising food prices, professor Jayson Lusk, who heads Purdue University’s Department of Agricultural Economics, said it’s both inflation and other factors. “The overall rate of inflation was relatively high in May. For food, higher wage rates and higher agricultural commodity prices are pushing prices higher,” he told MarketWatch on Thursday.The average monthly costs of groceries in March increased 3.3% from March 2020, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
For example, worker shortages and social distancing rules push up labor costs in the meatpacking industry, he said. Rising gas prices make trucking a more expensive endeavor, and the logistics are further complicated by more retiring truckers, Lempert noted. Meanwhile, Chinese demands for corn and soybeans drive up those prices, he said.
Jim Dudlicek, director of communications and external affairs for the National Grocers Association, a trade association, said food prices have climbed for a number of reasons, including gas costs, consumer demand and “supply chain pressures.”
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