Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Food Prices Rising In WV
WEST VIRGINIA...
Food prices are rising faster than overall inflation and more increases are expected in coming months, according to government reports and expert analysts.
The consumer price index for all items except food and energy rose just 0.8 percent from September 2009 to September 2010 - the lowest annual increase since 1961, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But food prices went up 1.4 percent during the period.
"Costs are being driven by growing demand for meat in China, India and other emerging markets," according to The Wall Street Journal. "That's driven up grain prices, which in turn boost the cost of chicken, steak, bread and pasta. Grain prices also have been nudged higher by drought in Russia, planting problems around the world and speculative trading."
The federal government publishes price indexes for the nation and some metropolitan markets, but not for Charleston. However, local price information is collected by Jeri Adkins, vice president of administration at the Charleston Area Alliance. Adkins collects prices three times a year for the ACCRA Cost of Living Index, which is produced by the Council for Community and Economic Research.
"Costs are being driven by growing demand for meat in China, India and other emerging markets," according to The Wall Street Journal. "That's driven up grain prices, which in turn boost the cost of chicken, steak, bread and pasta. Grain prices also have been nudged higher by drought in Russia, planting problems around the world and speculative trading."
The federal government publishes price indexes for the nation and some metropolitan markets, but not for Charleston. However, local price information is collected by Jeri Adkins, vice president of administration at the Charleston Area Alliance. Adkins collects prices three times a year for the ACCRA Cost of Living Index, which is produced by the Council for Community and Economic Research.
The council was created in 1961 to promote excellence in community and economic research. It has published the ACCRA Cost of Living Index continuously since 1968.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index and the ACCRA Cost of Living Index are different. The price index measures inflation, which is the change in prices over time. The cost of living index measures differences in prices among areas at a single point in time. It provides no information about how rapidly prices are changing within an area.
But Adkins has that information in her files. She methodically collects price information on 26 specific grocery products. She looked at Charleston food prices from the third quarter of 2009 to the third quarter of 2010 and found that the largest increases were for:
An 11.5-ounce can of coffee, which went from $2.58 to $3.15, a 22 percent increase.
A dozen eggs, which went from 98 cents to $1.16, an 18.3 percent increase.
A half-gallon of whole milk, which went from $1.69 to $1.92, a 13.6 percent increase.
She also looked for any large decreases. She found that the price of whole fryers dropped from $1.01 to 90 cents per pound, a 10.8 percent decrease.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Food prices are rising faster than overall inflation and more increases are expected in coming months, according to government reports and expert analysts.
The consumer price index for all items except food and energy rose just 0.8 percent from September 2009 to September 2010 - the lowest annual increase since 1961, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But food prices went up 1.4 percent during the period.
"Costs are being driven by growing demand for meat in China, India and other emerging markets," according to The Wall Street Journal. "That's driven up grain prices, which in turn boost the cost of chicken, steak, bread and pasta. Grain prices also have been nudged higher by drought in Russia, planting problems around the world and speculative trading."
The federal government publishes price indexes for the nation and some metropolitan markets, but not for Charleston.
However, local price information is collected by Jeri Adkins, vice president of administration at the Charleston Area Alliance.
Adkins collects prices three times a year for the ACCRA Cost of Living Index, which is produced by the Council for Community and Economic Research. The council was created in 1961 to promote excellence in community and economic research. It has published the ACCRA Cost of Living Index continuously since 1968.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index and the ACCRA Cost of Living Index are different. The price index measures inflation, which is the change in prices over time. The cost of living index measures differences in prices among areas at a single point in time. It provides no information about how rapidly prices are changing within an area.
But Adkins has that information in her files. She methodically collects price information on 26 specific grocery products. She looked at Charleston food prices from the third quarter of 2009 to the third quarter of 2010 and found that the largest increases were for:
An 11.5-ounce can of coffee, which went from $2.58 to $3.15, a 22 percent increase.
A dozen eggs, which went from 98 cents to $1.16, an 18.3 percent increase.
A half-gallon of whole milk, which went from $1.69 to $1.92, a 13.6 percent increase.
She also looked for any large decreases. She found that the price of whole fryers dropped from $1.01 to 90 cents per pound, a 10.8 percent decrease.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Food prices are rising faster than overall inflation and more increases are expected in coming months, according to government reports and expert analysts.
The consumer price index for all items except food and energy rose just 0.8 percent from September 2009 to September 2010 - the lowest annual increase since 1961, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But food prices went up 1.4 percent during the period.
"Costs are being driven by growing demand for meat in China, India and other emerging markets," according to The Wall Street Journal. "That's driven up grain prices, which in turn boost the cost of chicken, steak, bread and pasta. Grain prices also have been nudged higher by drought in Russia, planting problems around the world and speculative trading."
The federal government publishes price indexes for the nation and some metropolitan markets, but not for Charleston.
However, local price information is collected by Jeri Adkins, vice president of administration at the Charleston Area Alliance.
Adkins collects prices three times a year for the ACCRA Cost of Living Index, which is produced by the Council for Community and Economic Research. The council was created in 1961 to promote excellence in community and economic research. It has published the ACCRA Cost of Living Index continuously since 1968.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index and the ACCRA Cost of Living Index are different. The price index measures inflation, which is the change in prices over time. The cost of living index measures differences in prices among areas at a single point in time. It provides no information about how rapidly prices are changing within an area.
But Adkins has that information in her files. She methodically collects price information on 26 specific grocery products. She looked at Charleston food prices from the third quarter of 2009 to the third quarter of 2010 and found that the largest increases were for:
An 11.5-ounce can of coffee, which went from $2.58 to $3.15, a 22 percent increase.
A dozen eggs, which went from 98 cents to $1.16, an 18.3 percent increase.
A half-gallon of whole milk, which went from $1.69 to $1.92, a 13.6 percent increase.
She also looked for any large decreases. She found that the price of whole fryers dropped from $1.01 to 90 cents per pound, a 10.8 percent decrease.
Adkins is required to price products at five stores. She typically checks prices at the Walmart at Southridge Centre, at Foodland either on Spring Street or in Kanawha City, and at three Kroger stores.
Adkins noted that the prices she reports can be greatly affected if an item is on sale the week she collects figures. Regarding the lower year-over-year price for whole fryers, "it could just be that chicken was on sale when I priced it this last time," she said.
Which brings up Adkins' top recommendation for saving money on groceries: "Watch the sales circulars and stock up, especially on the items you use."
Prices vary widely around the country. The ACCRA Cost of Living Index composite is 100. If your city's index is 100, your cost of living is exactly the average of the 314 urban areas that participate in the study.
Adkins said Charleston's third-quarter 2010 ACCRA Cost of Living Index is 93.6, so living here costs 6.4 percent less than the national average. "The most expensive urban area is Manhattan, where the index is 207.9," she said. "The least expensive urban area is Harlingen, Texas, where the index is 79.9."
"Each time they send me a cost of living index they send along information about the most expensive and least expensive items found in the survey," Adkins said. "For eggs they report Kodiak, Alaska, is the most expensive, $2.99 a dozen. The least expensive is Buffalo, New York, at 79 cents a dozen."
Retailers and food producers are trying to figure out how to pass along higher costs, according to The Wall Street Journal. "Missteps could be costly when the economy remains weak," the newspaper noted.
When food price inflation hit 6.3 percent in October 2008 and producers passed on higher costs, shoppers switched to private-label products, the Journal said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said that although inflation has been relatively weak for most of 2009 and 2010, "higher food commodity and energy prices are now exerting pressure on wholesale and retail food prices. Hence, food inflation is predicted to accelerate during the final months of 2010 and the first half of 2011, leading to a forecast of 2 to 3 percent food price inflation in 2011."
The ACCRA cost of living index for Charleston and other cities is available from the Charleston Area Alliance by contacting Adkins at 304-340-4253.
But Adkins has that information in her files. She methodically collects price information on 26 specific grocery products. She looked at Charleston food prices from the third quarter of 2009 to the third quarter of 2010 and found that the largest increases were for:
An 11.5-ounce can of coffee, which went from $2.58 to $3.15, a 22 percent increase.
A dozen eggs, which went from 98 cents to $1.16, an 18.3 percent increase.
A half-gallon of whole milk, which went from $1.69 to $1.92, a 13.6 percent increase.
She also looked for any large decreases. She found that the price of whole fryers dropped from $1.01 to 90 cents per pound, a 10.8 percent decrease.
Adkins is required to price products at five stores. She typically checks prices at the Walmart at Southridge Centre, at Foodland either on Spring Street or in Kanawha City, and at three Kroger stores.
Adkins noted that the prices she reports can be greatly affected if an item is on sale the week she collects figures. Regarding the lower year-over-year price for whole fryers, "it could just be that chicken was on sale when I priced it this last time," she said.
Which brings up Adkins' top recommendation for saving money on groceries: "Watch the sales circulars and stock up, especially on the items you use."
Prices vary widely around the country. The ACCRA Cost of Living Index composite is 100. If your city's index is 100, your cost of living is exactly the average of the 314 urban areas that participate in the study.
Adkins said Charleston's third-quarter 2010 ACCRA Cost of Living Index is 93.6, so living here costs 6.4 percent less than the national average. "The most expensive urban area is Manhattan, where the index is 207.9," she said. "The least expensive urban area is Harlingen, Texas, where the index is 79.9."
"Each time they send me a cost of living index they send along information about the most expensive and least expensive items found in the survey," Adkins said. "For eggs they report Kodiak, Alaska, is the most expensive, $2.99 a dozen. The least expensive is Buffalo, New York, at 79 cents a dozen."
Retailers and food producers are trying to figure out how to pass along higher costs, according to The Wall Street Journal. "Missteps could be costly when the economy remains weak," the newspaper noted.
When food price inflation hit 6.3 percent in October 2008 and producers passed on higher costs, shoppers switched to private-label products, the Journal said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said that although inflation has been relatively weak for most of 2009 and 2010, "higher food commodity and energy prices are now exerting pressure on wholesale and retail food prices. Hence, food inflation is predicted to accelerate during the final months of 2010 and the first half of 2011, leading to a forecast of 2 to 3 percent food price inflation in 2011."
The ACCRA cost of living index for Charleston and other cities is available from the Charleston Area Alliance by contacting Adkins at 304-340-4253.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 11:15 AM 
