MONEY

Higher food prices for meat, fruit, veggies bite us all

Matthew Patane
mpatane@dmreg.com

Iowans eating beef and pork will face higher prices as drought conditions and a virus deadly to piglets continue to reduce supplies and raise prices, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Friday.

As a whole, the USDA reported prices for all types of food rose by 2.3 percent in June compared to prices one year ago.

Meat prices rose 9.4 percent in June compared to a year earlier, the USDA reported. Pork prices alone rose 12 percent year-over-year.

Those price increases mean consumers might have to substitute some of their favorite cuts of meat with lower-priced cuts, said Helen Jensen, a professor of economics at Iowa State University. For example, poultry prices have climbed only 1.7 percent year-over-year.

"Clearly in that area, those are big changes and there's incentives for consumers to make bigger adjustments," Jensen said. "They're going to switch to cheaper cuts, switch to poultry and other meats that are a little less expensive."

The USDA also reported that prices for fruits and vegetables increased in June, but at a less extreme rate compared to beef and pork.

Fresh fruit prices rose by 5.8 percent and fresh vegetable prices rose 2 percent year-over-year.

Those prices decreased from May to June, unlike beef and pork, which also increased month-to-month.

Jensen said those milder price increases mean consumers might look to fruits and vegetables for meals instead of meat.

Higher fresh fruit and vegetable prices also could push more consumers to area farmers markets, said Matt Russell, state food policy project coordinator at Drake University. Russell said the prices will be similar at both venues, but the local produce is likely to be of higher quality.

Increasing costs also could mean more Iowans will preserve fruits and vegetables for the winter.

It's already a growing trend among young families that want fresh tomatoes or sweet corn during the winter.

"Rising prices ... could motivate more Iowans to buy in bulk when we have an abundance of fruits and vegetables to hedge against what prices will do in the winter," he said.

Consumers also could look at cheap fast food for their meat fix due to the price increases, Jensen said.

The USDA reported that prices for food bought for the home rose 2.4 percent year-over-year, while prices for food bought in restaurants and outside the home rose 2.2 percent.

While it's not a big difference, Jensen said prices for fast food only need to appear to not be rising as fast as other food to entice consumers.

"Consumers may still see that that's a good opportunity to get their hamburger," Jensen said.