U.S. food prices see historic jump, likely to stay high
David Pitt
DES MOINES, IOWA — As if trips to the grocery store weren’t nerve-wracking enough, U.S. shoppers lately have seen the costs of meat, eggs and even potatoes soar as the coronavirus has disrupted processing plants and distribution networks.
Overall, the cost of food bought to eat at home skyrocketed by the most in 46 years, and analysts caution that meat prices in partic- ular could remain high as slaughterhouses struggle to maintain production levels while implementing proce- dures intended to keep work- ers healthy.
While price spikes for staples such as eggs and flour have eased as consumer demand has leveled off, prices remain volatile for carrots, potatoes and other produce because of transportation issues and the health of workers who pick crops and work in processing plants.
In short, supermarket cus- tomers and restaurant owners shouldn’t expect prices to drop anytime soon.
“Our biggest conc e rn is long-term food costs. I believe they will continue to go up,” said Julie Kalambokidis, co-owner of Adriano’s Brick Oven, a restaurant in Glenwood, Iowa.
Tamra Kennedy, who owns nine Mexican-inspired fast- food franchises in Iowa and Minnesota, joined Kalam- bokidis on a call set up by Iowa U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne and said sometimes even getting essential ingredients is difficult.
“You can pick an ingredient and I can tell you there are shortages,” she said.
Big fluctuations in food prices began in March, when the coronavirus pandemic began to sink in for U.S. con- sumers.
The Labor Department reports that the 2.6% jump in April food prices was the largest monthlyincrease in 46 years. Prices for meats, poul- try, fish and eggs increased the most, rising 4.3%. Although the 2.9% jump in cereals and bakery prod- ucts wasn’t as steep, it was still the largest increase the agency has recorded.
Dairy and related products, and fruits and vegetables increased by 1.5% in April.
Egg prices also reached an all-time record of more than $3 a dozen in late March, but they have since fallen to less than $1 a dozen.
The situation has been worse for meat prices, largely because of illnesses among slaughterhouse workers. The outbreaks struck pork processing plants the hardest, but beef and chicken processors also saw some impact as thousands ofworkers tested positive for the virus and the United Food and Commercial Workers union said at least 44 workers had died of COVID-19 as of Friday.
April retail prices for boneless pork chops and ham were nearly 6% higher than in March and retail prices for hamburger and sirloin steak were about 4% higher, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported. The price of whole fresh chickens rose by more than 12%.
After numerous closures, most pork plants have reopened but often not at full capacity, forcing pig farmers to euthanize animals that couldn’t be processed.
“There are biological constraints to this and that’s why I would anticipate prices to stay high at least for some period of time,” said Trey Malone, an agricultu re economist and professor at Michigan State University. “If you’re going to euthanize thousands of animals and it takes six months to raise a new one, obviously there’s going to be some type of delay or buffer in the supply chain.”
By mid-May, beef and pork slaughterhouses were operating at about 60% capacity, though that figure has since climbed to nearly 90%, said
Jayson Lusk, an economist at Purdue University. Although Lusk was optimistic that the
worst of the meat supply crunch is over, he said it’s always possible that a second wave of illness could cause the situation to worsen. Some grocery price jumps
were because of people stocking up when the coronavirus first arrived. But even as some prices have dropped, the cost of produce such as
potatoes, onions and carrots has remained above last year’s prices.
Much of the increase appears to be because more
people are cooking at home.