09/15/2021

Here’s Why Your Food Prices Keep Climbing

Expect to see higher prices in the last quarter of this year

Before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, most people didn't think much about where food came from, how much it traveled or how it was assembled. Certain industry phrases have underscored rising grocery bills over the past 18 months. "Turbulence and volatility." "Unprecedented times." But one of the biggies is "supply-chain disruption."

Food producers have struggled with shortages, bottlenecks, transportation, weather and labor woes, all of which have caused food prices to rise. The end is not in sight: Inflation at the wholesale level climbed 8.3% last month from August 2020, the Labor Department reported Friday, the biggest annual gain since it started calculating the number in 2010. Those prices are passed on to consumers: meat, poultry, fish and eggs are up 5.9 percent over the last year and 14.7 percent from prices in July 2019, before the pandemic.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday, reported an additional overall food price increase of 0.4 percent in August compared to July, after larger increases in recent months.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.