2/14/2024 0 Comments Rise up climbing“We are watching the recent onset of avian influenza very closely.”įlocco said that in 2020, egg prices remained “fairly steady” at an average of $1.50 a dozen, then they spiked to around $2 immediately following COVID lockdowns before eventually leveling out at under $1.50. “We wish we had a crystal ball to be able to see how prices will be affected in 2024,” said Tom Flocco, CEO of egg distributor Pete & Gerry’s. There is concern, however, that the infections continue and that different from other outbreaks, the current virus can survive through summers, so it is believed that poultry now will always be at risk of the disease, and therefore higher pricing. Nearly 5 million chickens, turkeys and other birds have been slaughtered this year due to the persistent bird flu outbreak that started in 2022, but it was far less than the almost 58 million the USDA said were killed in the outbreak year. “Egg prices were further impacted by the rise of the avian flu in 2022.” “There are different reasons for the increases across categories, but much of it is due to all input costs - labor, fertilizer, transportation and fuel, packaging and other logistical costs,” Rickard added. Rickard said cost hikes to watch for include those for eggs, meat, dairy, cereal, baked goods, processed fruits and vegetables and fats or oils. and labor costs are an input cost that continues to rise.” He said inflation is expected to be a bit higher for restaurant and takeout food, partly because "labor is a higher share of the final cost. “Overall, there are predictions that food prices will stabilize in 2024 and that food inflation rates will return to levels we saw before 2021 - that is, annual food inflation in the range of 2 to 3 percent,” Rickard said. Rickard, professor of food and agricultural economics at Cornell University, sees 2024 bringing more stability. and food-away-from-home prices are predicted to increase 5.1%."īradley J. “In 2024, all food prices are predicted to increase 2.1%. “Food prices are expected to continue to decelerate but not decline in 2024,” the USDA said. Food prices rose more rapidly at 4.9% during that period, and the USDA says increases will continue. Bureau of Labor Statistics price index, which showed that overall consumer prices were up 3.2% in September compared to a year ago. Department of Agriculture also project some food prices will continue to rise through 2024. However, over the course of the year, shoppers can expect them to climb overall,” Renter added.įederal pricing analysts from the U.S. “Food prices are notoriously volatile in the shorter term, which means you may see prices rise and then fall for some foods in some months of the year. Grocery inflation peaked at 13.5% in August 2022, but has been falling since then as supply chains unsnarled, she said. "Food prices are likely to rise, albeit more slowly than they have over the past few years,” said Renter. What do the experts think your 2024 grocery costs might look like? Shoppers are feeling the pain of high grocery prices, "and their behavior is reflecting that,” said Chloe Riley, executive editor of Supermarket News, a trade publication. Recent data show that 83% of shoppers have made one or more changes to their grocery shopping habits due to high prices, with 55% looking for specials more often and 45% cutting back on non-essentials, she said. “Global trade helps make food affordable around the world, but it also means food prices can be impacted by economic, climate and geopolitical events happening everywhere,” explained NerdWallet data analyst Elizabeth Renter. And those factors make anticipating their future costs difficult, with any one of them having the ability to change product availability and pricing overnight. And some forecast more cost increases for at least part of next year for products such as cereal, bread, meat, salmon, dairy, processed fruits and vegetables and fats or oils.Īll agree that in addition to the pandemic, a combination of factors - including inflation, animal disease, weather, climate change and political events such as war - have led to historically high prices for groceries in the past three years. Most of the authorities interviewed say the cost of some groceries, like eggs - which have headed the list of price hikes - have stabilized for now, but pre-pandemic prices largely aren’t expected to return. We found that even they couldn’t predict all the ups and downs that might come, though they agree the roller coaster will at least slow down. So, we asked experts what started this volatile ride, what point we are at in this journey, and what might be ahead for 2024. Ever since the pandemic wreaked havoc on supply chains in 2020, a trip to the grocery store has been like lining up for a seat on a roller coaster, then finding much of the ride involves being stuck at the top - of pricing.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |