Fresh vegetables buck inflation trends
Among all food categories tracked by federal statistics, only fresh vegetables showed lower retail prices in February compared with January.
The USDA’s Food Price Outlook, released in late March, upped the 2022 inflation forecast for all food and revealed that 11 food categories and six aggregate categories showed higher prices in February.
“Forecast ranges for the categories other meats, poultry, eggs, dairy products, fats and oils, fresh fruits, processed fruits and vegetables, sugar and sweets, cereals and bakery products, nonalcoholic beverages, and other foods, as well as the aggregate categories of all food; food away from home; food at home; meats, poultry, and fish; fruits and vegetables; and fresh fruits and vegetables, were revised upward,” the report said. “Only the category of fresh vegetables was revised downward.”
The report said restaurant food prices were up 0.4% in February 2022 and rated 6.8% percent higher than a year ago. Meanwhile, the agency said grocery food prices rose 1.4% from January 2022 to February 2022 and were now 8.6% higher than in February 2021.
The USDA said the retail inflation forecasts for 2022 reveal:
- Fresh fruit prices are predicted to increase between 5% and 6%;
- Processed fruit and vegetable prices are predicted to increase between 4.5% and 5.5%;
- The aggregate categories of fruits and vegetables are predicted to increase between 3.5% and 4.5%;
- Fresh fruits and vegetables are predicted to increase between 3% and 4%;
- Fresh vegetable prices are now predicted to increase between 1% and 2%, an adjustment downward from 1.5% to 2.5% in an earlier forecast; and
- In 2022, grocery food price are forecast to increase between 3% and 4%, and food away from home prices are predicted to increase between 5.5% and 6.5%.
