What is driving grocery prices up so high and so quickly?

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
Went grocery shopping this morning and probably bought about 2/3 of what I usually get and it cost 1/3 more than usual. A bunch of grapes was almost $10 and a 12 oz. jar of sweet gherkins pickles (which I didn't buy) was $3.99 ! It wasn't this bad at the height of the pandemic.
 

Food prices will probably remain high for quite some time. This virus caused many meat processing plants to shut down...and many are just now starting to get back to full production. Then, there is a major shortage of truck drivers...again as a result of people losing/quitting jobs because of this pandemic....and deliveries are being delayed. Then, this huge drought and heat wave in the Western states has destroyed many farms, and created shortages of many agricultural products.

These, and probably several other factors, have driven food and many consumer products to prices not seen in years. But, there is hope on the horizon...if the government takes a "reality" look at inflation, there may be a nice boost to Social Security next year. If not, the increase will probably not buy much more than a loaf of bread and a dozen eggs.
 
Don M. said:
Food prices will probably remain high for quite some time. This virus caused many meat processing plants to shut down...and many are just now starting to get back to full production. Then, there is a major shortage of truck drivers...again as a result of people losing/quitting jobs because of this pandemic....and deliveries are being delayed. Then, this huge drought and heat wave in the Western states has destroyed many farms, and created shortages of many agricultural products.

These, and probably several other factors, have driven food and many consumer products to prices not seen in years. But, there is hope on the horizon...if the government takes a "reality" look at inflation, there may be a nice boost to Social Security next year. If not, the increase will probably not buy much more than a loaf of bread and a dozen eggs.
Click to expand...
It may be useful for folks to to remember that the covid lockdown not only shut down plants but killed a lot of businesses, including those in the food and other supply chains and they will not be coming back any time soon. As available goods decrease, inflation increases (i.e., too much money chasing scarce goods and services). Add in bad weather and you've the perfect storm of price increases. Where we had an economy running like a high-powered sports car, it's looking more like a worn out mule at the moment.
 
An extra $100 a month applied to food purchases would be a big help for most seniors. As far a meat goes, I've gone vegetarian at home and get meat when I eat out. Other friends of mine are doing the same thing. There are other ways to get protein into your diet.
 
Rising prices is the reason financial planners advise workers to account for the effects of inflation on retirement income.

We started retirement in January 2010, during the Great Recession. Did a lot of traveling that year, and it was great. Hotels and restaurants were begging for business, tour groups were only seeing half the # of people signed up. A 2-week trip with Road Scholar only had 15 people, including us! The guide told us the year before (pre-crash) an average size group was 40-50 people.

Ten years later - pre-lockdown - I looked over the previous year's (2019) travel costs. I estimated hotels and restaurants were roughly 30-40% higher than when we started.

As for higher grocery prices, the mega-drought in CA is so bad, one of the news articles said farmers with active wells are finding their water is worth more than any crop they can grow.

Depending on the product, roughly 30-100% of your produce comes from CA's Central Valley. As pointed out above, add in a severe lack of truckers - it's an awful job and the turnover is massive - along with supply chain slowdowns, and it all totals up to an increase in costs.

Cheap food depends on a simple equation: Supply x Distribution x Demand. Mess with any of those, and you have problems.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top