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The United States Department of Agriculture released an update to its Food Price Outlook for 2022 and found that nearly everything one might ingest – whether it comes from the grocery store or restaurant – is going up in price.
And yes, that's on top of the price increases consumers have already been forced to endure in the last year.
"All food prices are now predicted to increase between 4.5 and 5.5%," the USDA's Economic Research Service explained in the March report.
While the overall increase is alarming, a closer look at various food categories show just how expensive shoppers can expect items to get, according to the USDA:
Beef and veal: +16.2%
Pork: +14%
Poultry: +12.5%
Fish and seafood: +10.4%
Eggs: +11.4%
Dairy: +5.2%
Fats and oils: +11.7%
Fresh fruits: +10.6%
Fresh vegetables: +4.3%
Processed fruits and vegetables: +7.6%
Sugars and sweets: +7%
Cereals and bakery products: +7.8%
As for take-out or dine-in menus, the USDA said those prices are predicted to go up between 5.5 and 6.5% for the remainder of this year.
Additionally, food prices climbed 7.9% for the year ending in February 2022.
This was "the largest 12-month advance since July 1981," according to the department.
The report also noted current global events that will only add to the uncertainty of food affordability, saying, "The impacts of the conflict in Ukraine and the recent increases in interest rates by the Federal Reserve are expected to put upward and downward pressures on food prices, respectively. The situations will be closely monitored to assess the net impacts of these concurrent events on food prices as they unfold."
© 2015 Mutual Fund Observer. All rights reserved.
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Comments
The real cause of inflation is the $7 TRILLION the Fed has dumped on the economy since the pandemic started. Sure, there are companies that have taken advantage to raise prices, the vast majority of the inflation in prices is actually a deflation in the value of the currency. And sure, the dollar is doing well, but it's the least dirty pair of sox in the hamper. Oh, and BTW, inflation in the rest of the world is a minor issue.
https://www.dailynews.com/2022/03/31/inflation-the-result-of-sticker-shock-on-government-spending/
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/government-spending-inflation-spike-san-francisco-federal-reserve
and so it goes,
peace,
rono
Pandemic, and now war, induced inflation is a global phenomenon
https://www.global-rates.com/en/economic-indicators/inflation/inflation.aspx
https://www.ft.com/content/6fc23069-6184-4a29-9691-130c83d29349
Thanks @orage. It'll be curious to see how things pan out over the next year or so.
best,
rono
Seems unreal to even type that... what will the general public think about that...
Best
Baseball Fan
However, I don’t recall that inflation was much of a “hot button” issue 70s thru 80s. ISTM most took it in stride along with all the other pieces of the economic puzzle. Among those: jobs, wages, perks (like retirement benefits and health insurance), the stock market, quality of public services and infrastructure and educational opportunities. So it was an issue. But not a “hot button” one.
PS - Along with the inflation of the 70s & 80s there were several U.S. manned lunar landings and other advancements in space - something to be really proud of as a nation. And it was perhaps the genesis period for what later became the technological revolution. Loved my first computer - a Vic 20 (early 80s).
Y/Y inflation remained below 5% until the spring of 1969. The only double digit Y/Y figures come from 1974-1975 and 1979-1981, peaking at 14.8% in March 1980. I'm sure those periods ring economic bells for some people.
My data source is the Bureau of Labor Statistics: https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost
(Select "More Formatting Options", and then select the checkbox "12 month percent change")
What is your source?
https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-inflation-rate-history-by-year-and-forecast-3306093
Balance says that the 1980 inflation was 12.5%. The 18% figure that you're quoting is the Fed Funds rate. If you mouse over "footnote" 5 (Inflation YOY), you'll see it describes the same source and procedure for finding inflation that I described above.
Inflation is rate of change in prices. So, if food and energy stabilize at higher price levels, inflation will go down but prices will remain high.
To my point regarding what the public thinks. Govt can spin it, sound bite it, fog, deflect blame,try to BS it, etc...but you cannot BS reality
Especially when you grocery shop once a week, buy gas once a week, pay utilities monthly
Inflation really could be well into double digits
Don't worry...I'll stay away from political commentary
Invest wisely and appropriately
Baseball Fan
I buy chicken breasts at GFS. Over the past 18 months, they've more than doubled from $14.99 to $31.99.
Oh and before we all blame everyone else, the Fed has injected some $6 TRILLION into the economy with pent up demand and supply issues. duh.
and so it goes,
peace,
rono
Really feel for those who are on a limited budget and have kids at home to feed.
What a mess! This would be a real good time to those of us who have had financial success in life to maybe buy an extra week or two's worth of groceries and donate to their local food bank.
Good Luck to ALL,
Baseball Fan
“I would say logistics is the number-one reason we are having inflation. It’s very difficult to find drivers, and wages are going up. Fuel surcharges are through the roof. The freight to get goods to the consolidation points has doubled since pre-pandemic. The cost of packaging goes up because it’s shipped to the producers. Even ocean freight has doubled compared to pre-pandemic. We mostly use our own trucks and drivers, but because of the driver shortage, if someone calls out sick, a route doesn’t go out. We’ve had new trucks on order for almost a year. This shortage of drivers, trucks and truck parts for repairs makes freight more expensive and service much worse. It seems crazy that we would be paying double the freight for far worse service, but there it is.”
Walmart will train scores of warehouse workers as truckers, starting at up to $110,000
Global food prices hit their highest recorded levels last month, driven up by the war
Excerpts from that report:
Along with the above, a surplus of paper money ... A lots folks got “rich” trading stocks & crypto...
“Walmart is paying up to keep on trucking. The retail giant is offering truck drivers up-to-$110,000 starting salaries and expanding a training program that enables its employees to enter the field to grow its in-house fleet.”
Also noted in this WSJ issue: Warren Buffett has built up an 11% stake in HP.
On the other hand, Apple is moving away from Intel technology and is investing in it's own intellectual design facilities. But I have no idea if Apple intends to manufacture advanced chips for use by anyone else, or intends to keep all of it's design and production for it's own private use.
Apple moved away Intel X-86-based chips to other advanced (faster and low power consumption) architectures, M1 for their computers. M1 chips are designed by ARM, a British company who supports the A1 chips for iPhones and iPads. And the chips are manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturer. There is already a second generation, M1 Ultra and M1 Pro chips in the latest MacBook Pro and iMac.
https://macrumors.com/guide/m1/
Or I need to have my eyes checked.