7 Grocery Items That Are Surging in Price Right Now
If you're fed up with sky-high grocery prices, well, we have some bad news.
Inflation keeps rising, up 0.4% in February and 6% over the last year, according to the latest consumer price index (CPI) data published today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Food prices continue to be one of the biggest strains on household budgets. The cost of groceries—or, "food at home," per CPI—is up 0.3% since January and over 10% since last February. Those figures are down slightly from prior months, suggesting the overall inflation rate is gradually cooling off, but prices remain high on many grocery items.
One significant change: the price of eggs dropped 6.7% after months of steep increases—but that's still 55% higher than last February.
Here are seven things that you are paying even more for right now, according to the most recent CPI average retail prices in U.S. cities.
Oranges & Orange Juice
Several weather disasters, including two hurricanes, hit Florida last year, ravaging orange groves in the juice-producing Sunshine State. Production is down by two-thirds in 2023, driving up the price of both oranges and orange juice, according to the farm journal AgWeb. The average retail price for Navel oranges is now $1.54 per pound, up 2.3% since January and 7.2% since last year, while a 12-ounce can of frozen concentrate now costs $2.98, up 5.6% from a month ago and 8.3% year over year.
Potatoes
Bad weather is also to blame for a drop in potato production, with last summer's unseasonably warm temperatures impacting crops in the leading spud-producing state of Idaho, according to the News-Star. The average retail price for basic white potatoes is now about 97 cents per pound, up 2.6% since January and nearly 22% since last year.
Ham
While prices are slowly trending downward for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs, in general, that isn't the case for many pork products. A boneless ham now costs $5.66 per pound on average, up 3.4% since January and over 10% since last year, while pork chops cost $4.25 per pound, up 2.8% in February and 5.6% year over year.
Spaghetti & Macaroni
Dried pasta is one of those dependable pantry staples that Americans rely on for a filling and cheap meal, but even this trusty go-to is less affordable than it used to be. The average retail price for spaghetti and macaroni products is now nearly $1.49 per pound, up o.7% last month and over 29% since last year.
Flour & Sugar
If you like to bake, then you are surely feeling the inflationary effects lately. Two of the most basic ingredients for baking are both surging in price. The average cost of flour jumped 1.9% in February to $0.55 per pound, up over 28% since last year. Meanwhile, the average price of sugar increased 1.9% last month to $0.87 per pound, nearly 22% higher than last February.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
One predictable result of the rising cost of baking supplies: higher prices for baked goods, too. Chocolate chip cookies, for example, are now nearly $5.18 per pound on average, up 2.4% since January and nearly 25% since last year.
Bread
Another pantry staple on the rise, price-wise: the simple loaf of bread. White bread is now $1.89 per pound on average, up 0.4% last month and over 20% since February 2022, while wheat bread now costs $2.50 per pound, an increase of 2% in February and over 23% year over year.