Things are coming together to drive up the price of food this year. The Department of Agriculture says food prices are rising further and faster than they’d anticipated in 2021.
The forecast now stands at 2 and a half to 3 and a half percent increases at grocery stores. That’s half a percent above the outlook a month ago. While the jump in price doesn’t apply to all items on grocery store shelves, beef prices are an example of the results of inflationary pressures. Beef could end up 5% higher with pork perhaps a percentage point higher than that.
USDA says the cause involves things such as rising demand from re-opened restaurants, a shortage of food processing workers as well as truck drivers to transport food and a shortage of packaging materials.
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