A nationwide survey of grocery store prices shows a slight dip in the cost of an Independence Day celebration this year, the American Farm Bureau Federation reported Tuesday.
AFBF put the cost of a July Fourth meal for 10 at $67.73, down 3% from last year, when the total cost shot up 17% year-over-year as inflation throughout the economy also hit home at the grocery store. The 2023 total is still the second-highest cost recorded in the survey, which Farm Bureau began in 2013.
AFBF Chief Economist Roger Cryan said this year’s dip “doesn’t counter the dramatic increases we’ve seen over the past few years.
“Families are still feeling the pinch of high inflation along with other factors keeping prices high,” he said. “Don’t assume farmers come out as winners from higher prices at the grocery store either. They’re price takers, not price makers, whose share of the retail food dollar is just 14%. Farmers have to pay for fuel, fertilizer and other expenses, which have all gone up in cost.”
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This year’s survey tracked the costs of a dozen items that are familiar at many summertime cookouts, but none had a higher change in price than a package of hamburger buns, which increased 17% year-over-year. Price increases were also reported for homemade potato salad (up 5%), ground beef (up 4%) strawberries and ice cream (both up 3%).
The majority of the individual categories went down, and none more so than lemonade, which dropped 16% due to a drop in the cost of lemons, AFBF noted. There were other price declines for chocolate chip cookies (down 10%) chicken breasts (down 9%), pork chops (down 6%), potato chips (down 4%) and pork and beans (down 3%).
The AFBF survey is based on figures provided by shoppers in 240 grocery stores across the country, including data from every state and Puerto Rico.
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