COLUMBUS, Ohio — There are a variety of reasons for the changing prices we see on grocery store shelves.
“Really, when we talk about inflation, we’re talking about the fact that prices have gone up,” Spectrum News agriculture expert Andy Vance said.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measurement of inflation, increased by .2% in June. This increase is the smallest in more than a year.
No matter how small, Vance said there are a variety of factors that contribute to pricing changes.
“You know, we could be talking about the cost of labor,” he said. “If you think about what it costs to pay people to work in a food processing facility, at a restaurant, etc. That’s gone up. You look at the cost of of your input materials. You know, we could be talking about lumber, steel, any of the various commodities that would go into producing anything.”
Vance said weather also affects the price of goods.
“Those are all things that are part of this big ball of what makes inflation,” he said.
There are also factors, independent of the current market, that can affect prices.
One example is eggs, which saw a major increase in price throughout the last year.
Avian influenza is one reason for the increase.
“I would say egg producers faced what you might think of as a perfect storm,” Vance said. “So feed prices have gone up. Energy prices…all those things have gone up, right? Then you add to that Avian influenza, as you mentioned, so we had the loss of literally millions of birds because they were sick with the Avian influenza. Fewer birds producing eggs. Basic laws of supply and demand. What has to happen if there are fewer eggs to sell? The price of them has to go up. That’s just basic market economics.”
CPI data for July will be released on Aug. 10.
Vance is also the Executive Director of the Poultry Science Association.
