7 Groceries That Just Got More Expensive, Reports Say
If you've been to the grocery store recently and noticed prices getting higher, you're not imagining it. Because of a pandemic, supply shortages, increased demand, and employee changes, we are experiencing another grocery inflation.
A recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the overall prices of groceries increased 6.5% last year, which makes it the largest increase in over a decade!
Read on to learn more about the specific grocery items that just got more expensive, and for more grocery tips, check out The 6 Best Costco Items to Buy This Year.
Eggs
According to the US Department of Agriculture, the changing costs of food items depend on things like transportation, production costs, manufacturing, and how much it will cost in retail. These reasons contribute to the fact that eggs had seen a whopping 20.7% increase this year.
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Beef
Beef chuck roast and ground beef both made the list this year. From 2020 to 2021, chuck roast prices increased 15.2%, and ground beef rose 13.%.
Although grocery prices are soaring, the BLS report predicts prices going back down due to Omicron, which will most likely keep people away from restaurants.
Pork products
Pork products are at an all-time high this year. Pork chop prices increased by 7.5%, but bacon prices are the highest they've ever been since 2014, with a 23.7% increase in 2021.
Oranges
The cost of oranges is up by 9% right now, making it the only fruit on the list. According to the report, one of the main reasons we are seeing such high prices, aside from supply and demand, is due to supply and labor shortages causing a shortage in grocery packaging.
Boneless chicken
As you probably noticed, there's a lot of meat on the list this year. Boneless chicken breast made the list as well, coming in at a 13.1% price increase.
With the inflation of so many meat products, it comes as no surprise that the plant-based, "alternative meat" market is expected to continue to rise in popularity in the next few years.
Milk
Milk had the smallest price increase on the report's list, but it still rose by 5.9% between 2020 and 2021. With the pandemic continuing on, the report notes that a lot of these price increases are due to the fact that many grocery stores can't find enough employees, or because employees are asking for higher pay.
Coffee
Let's be honest, people will continue to buy coffee no matter how much the price increases! From 2020 to 2021, coffee bean prices rose to 9.8%, but it will become a little more complicated this year.
Another report predicts that prices of arabica coffee-which is grown in mountainous or tropical climates and makes up most of the world's coffee market-will decrease as the year goes on. This is largely due to Brazil increasing their coffee production. The report also says that robusta coffee-which isn't as commonly sold-will continue to increase in price.
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