Photo: JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP / Getty Images
Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners will be more expensive this year due to the notable increase in food prices, which exceeds the annual average of the last 20 years , based on the US Consumer Price Index
The most recent index shows that in September Food prices increased 4.6% over the prior year with increases in all major grocery categories.
The prices of cereals and bakery products have risen 2.7% compared to the previous year. Non-alcoholic beverages rose 3.7% and dairy products 0.6%.
These increases exceed the average annual increase of 20 years of 2% for food purchased in grocery stores.
As Thanksgiving approaches, the Department of Agriculture expects there will be fewer frozen turkeys for sale, and they will cost more than in previous years .
Winter storms, cyberattacks and traffic jams at processing facilities have made it difficult to commercialize meat.
Farmers in western states face constant water shortages, and nearly half of the United States’ area of alfalfa hay, an important livestock feed, It is in severe drought conditions.
Wheat stocks reached a minimum mo of 14 years after a small harvest.
Veronica Nigh, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, said during a media call Thursday that only 8% of the total cost of food is related to agriculture and the rest is related to agriculture. added as products move through the economy.
The United States’ carefully calibrated food supply chain is still recovering from the initial shocks felt at the beginning of the pandemic.
James Sterns, associate professor of applied economics at Oregon State University, said that before the pandemic, supply chains had become increasingly efficient with access to inexpensive transportation to move goods.
He pointed out how farmers let crops rot, dumped excess milk and slaughtered on chickens as markets evaporated at the start of the pandemic.
Meat packing facilities face ongoing problems.
Facilities closed or slowed in response to COVID outbreaks – 19 among employees working in spaces
That led to meat shortages and bottlenecks in processing capacity.
But the rapid transition of supply chains from Meat from restaurants to grocery stores added costs, along with additional safety measures to protect workers, according to a USDA report.
As job openings have risen, the Meat Institute has blamed high food prices on labor shortages.
Robert Wiedmer, professor supply chain management assistant at Arizona State University, said COVID – 19 exacerbated the existing agricultural labor shortage.
Said older or medically vulnerable workers can seek a less risky job.
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