Buying food has become more expensive and has added further strain to families struggling amidst the rise of the delta variant.
Food prices rose a full percentage point in August, up from six-tenths of a point in July, defying predictions that inflation would cool off, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Friday. Compared with a year ago, food prices are up 12.7 percent, outpacing the overall increase of 8.3 percent in the Producer Price Index. On an annual basis, that is the highest level of food inflation in records that go back to 2010. The monthly figure is the third-highest on record.
Some of the increased annual numbers from Friday’s Producer Price Index:
- Beef and Veal: +59.2 percent
- Pork: +34.1 percent
- Chickens: +32 percent
- Fish: +18 percent
- Turkey: +41.4 percent
- Fresh eggs: +31.7 percent
Shortening and cooking oils are up 43.5 percent. Some prices have fallen. Dairy prices are down along with fruit and vegetables, although this doesn’t include canned fruit and vegetables. Grain prices are up by 98 percent, although this price largely reflects the plunge in global demand last year combined with a surge this year.
