Gas prices aren’t the only thing going up. The American Farm Bureau’s quarterly survey of food prices showed a slight increase in what we pay at the supermarket. Senior Economist John Skorburg says the average cost of the 16 basic grocery items in the survey was 36-dollars.That’s an increase of 50 cents or a one-point-four-percent increase over the last survey. Skorburg says processing costs led to the increase.Process foods like vegetable and corn oil increased substantially, as did potatoes. Skorburg says the increase in potatoes was likely an anomaly, because they’re normally a loss leader for stores. He says prices might be catching up to the economy a bit as she says food prices normally lag behind inflation, but they seem to be catching up now. Skorburg doesn’t think the increase in food costs is likely to continue.He says he expects prices to drop a little, and says some products in the survey, such as meat and cheese, actually did have lower prices. Skorburg points out that the prices are based on what consumers pay at the supermarket, and the increase isn’t necessarily reflected in the money made by farmers.
