January 19, 2011
From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Shoppers strolling the aisles of their grocery stores can expect to feel a little bit of sticker shock in coming months, if they haven't already.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that last year's grain harvest yielded less than expected, shrinking grain stocks - and sending grain prices up sharply. The department's grain estimate, released late last week in its highly anticipated year-end crop report, comes after months of cost increases that the food industry has said it will pass along to consumers. The Department of Labor piled on with its latest report, which revealed that wholesaler prices rose 4 percent over last year.
The combination could mean grocery prices will climb, especially toward the end of the year, analysts say, though meat, egg and dairy prices have already inched up.
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