Going Up!

( 0 Votes )

Monday, 31 January 2011 22:58

Washington, D.C., February, 2011 — As the economy begins to recover, a rise in food prices, both in grocery stores and restaurants is likely to rise, according to a report just released by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA.) U.S. food prices are projected to increase by 2-3 per cent this year, due primarily to higher food commodity and energy prices, according to a report as part of the 2011 Consumer Price Index (CPI), released by the USDA’s Economic Research Service. This jump arrives on the heels of a slightly less than 1% overall increase that came in 2010 – which was, according to the report, the lowest food inflation rate since 1962. In 2010, grocery prices rose by 0.3 per cent last year, while restaurant costs went up 1.3 per cent – the lowest annual increases since 1967 and 1955, respectively. More specifically, the cost of fresh fruit fell in five of the past 11 months, which led to an overall fresh fruit price decline of 0.6 per cent in 2010 — a trend that’s expected to reverse itself this year. The cost of fresh vegetables increased in price as last year came to an end, going up 2.5 per cent in December, the report said. In 2009, the total spent for all food consumed in this country came to $1.18 billion, a 1.2 per cent increase from 2008 when $1.17 billion exchanged hands — with the total spent for food consumed at home 2.8% higher than what was spent in restaurants. SOURCE: USDA (Visual courtesy thedailygreen.com) < Prev   Next >