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Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Foods Which May Be Affected by Inflation

I don't know if you've been reading news' articles about food inflation for 2021. There are some foods that we can expect to pay more for this year. Here's the list so far for the year:

  • Coffee -- due to drought in Brazil
  • Cheese, especially Parmesan -- increases related to shipping, herd feed prices, and aging of cheese
  • Meat and dairy -- due to shortage of some animal feed
  • Poultry -- avian influenza affecting poultry in EU
  • Imported seafood -- port issues
  • Vegetable oil -- drought in Brazil affecting soy, labor-strike in Argentina, and increased demand from China for vegetable oil fueling shortages combined with Russia's increased export tax on sunflower seed and oil (Russia is world's largest exporter of sunflower seeds) and Thailand and Malaysia's lower than expected palm oil production 
  • Grains -- due to China's increased demand for grains as feed for increasing their livestock herds, Russia's increased export tax, US mid-west/Ukraine/Argentina/Brazil crop reductions/failures (weather-related)
  • Sugar -- fears over worsening crop prospects this coming year in South America, Thailand, EU, and Russia
Even if the US is not a big trading partner with one or more of these mentioned countries, world-wide price increases and shortages still affect domestic prices.

It goes without saying, many processed foods will also bear higher prices or shrinking packages. Kraft-Heinz, Conagra (Duncan Hines, Marie Callender's), and Unilever (Lipton, Hellmann's) have already announced price increases for this coming year, due to higher cost of grains and sugar. Mayonnaise, a product that uses vegetable oil, is already more expensive than it was just 6 months ago.

So, what am I doing about this? I'm once-again dedicating more of our income to grocery purchases, trying to get a step ahead on these key food items. I'll also be setting aside a bit of our surplus of ingredients that I'll want to use next fall and winter holiday season. It's common sense that we'll likely feel the full brunt of food inflation, then, just as Americans do their annual holiday big-baking and cooking to celebrate what we hope will be the first "normal" holiday season with loved ones.


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18 comments:

  1. Your list just about covers every major food category--not a good thing. Unfortunately, food is not the only thing experiencing a significant increase in prices over the last year. It all calls for smart shopping and counting our blessings that we can still afford to buy things- even if they are not exactly the kind or amount we want.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Live and Learn,
      You're right. I'm counting my blessings and praying those in need have enough.

      Delete
  2. I think that is a legitimate concern. I'm trying to think what that might look like and then got to thinking about 2020 when there were so many things we couldn't even get. Like flour, sugar, toilet paper, yeast, and the list goes on. Is it worse to pay a high price or to not be able to get it at all? We scrambled to find some things in 2020 and were very concerned for a while. I wonder if we're heading back to that again. I have created a big fully stocked basement pantry and I've been using from that pantry. Maybe it's time to take inventory and refill it.

    With all due respect, I'm in a position where I could pay a bit more (wouldn't like it though) for something rather than not being able to get it at all. I would find a way to make it work. I would change my way of thinking to "less/no coffee might give me health benefits, no/low sugar might enable me to drop a few pounds. No/low meat would force me to stretch what I have even more." Just thinking out loud.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Alice,
      I'm going to try to adopt your attitude and see the benefits of less of some items. I've begun doing that with coffee already, following a cup of coffee with a cup of water. I love coffee/decaf and could drink it all day. But I know that water is better for me, so I am making more of an effort to have water during the day.
      The grains are hard, though. I don't eat a lot of grains to begin. Cutting those further would be hard. (I know, you see how much I bake, but I'm not the one eating all of the goodies.) We'll have to see on that.

      Delete
  3. Jotted down all the items you listed. Have some of all in the pantry or freezer. However, I intend to be adding more each time I shop. I will try to keep them all in mind as I try to stretch them. Another thing that I have found impossible to find is the jar flats in regular size for canning. I have some plus the wide mouth on hand but am hoping to can even more this summer. I will also be needing more sugar for my jams and jellies. I am so thankful for the forum here to help one another take care of our families. Thank you all! I do think we need to stay alert and be prepared. These last thirteen months has hopefully made us more aware of how quickly things can change and how important it is to be as prepared as possible.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Linda,
      Check Ace Hardware (they ship if you don't have one near by) for the canning jar lids. It was the only place I could find them last spring. I suspect a lot of folks are canning again this year.
      I go through a surprising amount of sugar and vinegar each summer canning season. I'm trying to get ahead for those two, just in case.
      Good luck finding the lids.

      Delete
    2. I will be checking the Ace Hardware about 30 minutes away. And also, I am grateful for the heads up about vinegar....I hadn't thought about it might be hard to find. We use a lot duriing canning season plus for cleaning. Thanks lots!

      Delete
    3. Linda, Ace Hardware also ships from a central location if your local one doesn't have any in stock.

      Delete
  4. Thank you for this information. I heard there is a tp shortage happening again.
    -Kathryn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kathryn,
      Yes, TP, too. Again, one of those items I'd adding. I buy that at Walmart, but they've been limiting to one package per order like last spring. So, I'm buying the large package (a full month supply for us) every 2-3 weeks. Staples (the office supply place) has been a good place to find bathroom tissue at a decent price, and they deliver for free.

      Delete
  5. I hadn't heard about these shortages. Thanks for the heads up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome, Kris. At the store today, sugar had jumped up by 55cents in the 10-lb bag since two weeks ago. But in the 25-lb bag the price increase hadn't happened yet (maybe the 10-lb bags were "new" stock). Cheese jumped from $4.98/2lb bag to $6.48/2lb bag in 2 weeks. Hoping this is all short-lived.

      Delete
  6. Lili thank you for helping us in so many ways. I wanted to add P&G(Procter and Gamble announce they will be raising prices in September. The article tated the increase will be in the mid to high single digits.
    https://www.businessinsider.com/household-products-coke-toilet-paper-diapers-coffee-tampons-price-increase-2021-4

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Robin,
      Thank you for the link to that article -- I'll go read it. It looks like we're in for price increases on a lot of items.
      Thanks again!

      Delete
  7. Lili, I have read a bit about these expected price increases and shortages, but you have captured them all in one place for us. Thank you for the links, and the bad news.
    :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lynn,
      Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But it's better to know now and prepare ourselves than to be blind-sided.

      Delete
    2. Totally agree. Just hadn't realized how far reaching the prices and shortages could be. Thanks for your-as always-in-depth analysis!

      Delete

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