According to data issued Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, grocery costs, and the eggs index finally fell in March, decreasing for the first time since September 2020.
Three of the six major supermarket food group indexes declined between February and March. The meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index decreased 1.4%, dragged down by another month of significant drops in egg prices.
Prices for fruits and vegetables declined 1.3%, while dairy goods fell 0.1%. The other indexes, for nonalcoholic beverages, cereals, and bread products, and all other groceries, increased.
Food Prices are Affected by these Factors
Food costs are influenced by a variety of circumstances, including drought and flooding, as well as fuel prices and international events such as the Ukraine crisis. In addition to disrupting supply systems, these have given food corporations an excuse to boost prices.
While the monthly decrease is welcome, food remains prohibitively expensive on an annual basis. Grocery prices increased 8.4% year on year through March, exceeding general inflation of 5%. During that time, menu prices increased by 8.8%.
Several food staples saw significant price hikes throughout the course of the year. Eggs increased 36%, margarine increased 33.4%, flour increased 17.5%, potatoes increased 9.7%, cheese increased 8.2%, and milk increased 5.5%.
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Food Cost month to month
Egg prices have continued to fall after rising 70% year on year in January. Eggs fell 10.9% month over month in March but were 36.0% higher year over year.
Other food costs fell month to month: ham, except canned (-1.6%), pork chops (-1.4%), milk (-1.3%), peanut butter (-2.3%), instant coffee (-2.4%), and shelf-stable fish and seafood (-2.1%), after a spike in February due to economic sanctions against Russia. Fruits and vegetables were also less abundant (-1.5%). Lettuce, down -5.6%, was a substantial contributor, as were tomatoes (-3.4%) and oranges, particularly tangerines (-1.5%).
Other grocery costs rose month over month in March, including cereal and cereal items (+1.3%), other bakery products including doughnuts and crackers (+1.8%), uncooked beef steaks (+1.4%), bacon and associated products (+1.0%), lunch meats (+1.3%), and snacks (+2.2%).
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