HOUSTON — Food prices are climbing. In August, they were up more than 13% compared to last year. Analysts say we can expect increases like that for the rest of the year.
There are a lot of reasons for the surge: extreme weather, like drought, to an avian flu outbreak killing egg-laying chickens, to the war in Ukraine affecting grain prices. Because we all have to buy food, manufacturers can pass on those costs to consumers without worrying too much about a drop in sales.
Manufacturers are admitting they expect the increases to continue. They blame raw material costs, transportation and energy prices. Grocery prices do tend to go up every year. CNN reports that from 1974 to 2021 they only dropped in two of those years. Usually, they only go up around 2 to 3% a year, which matches wage increases so consumers don’t feel that pain quite as much.
According to CNN, one of the reasons grocery prices don’t often go down is it is a hassle for stores. While manufacturers raise prices incrementally, stores won’t necessarily pass that increase on right away. That’s because when they eventually do, they have to print out new labels and enter the new price into their sales system. When you have thousands of items that is a lot of work.