Food - Cost and Availability

[AllDone]

The average American family spends less than 10% of its income on food so a rise in prices isn't going to represent that much of a hardship for the majority.

 

[Dreamer]

Kudos to Imoldernu and MRG for being so polite. I wish that everyone would always act so nice.

I have already noticed some increase in prices for produce that I buy regularly, such as bags of apples at Sam's Club. Also, our Walmart has not had their brand of old fashioned oats that we buy, so the last time I bought Quaker Oats old fashioned oats. Today they did not have the big boxes of either brand, just the quick oats. We eat oats most every morning. I will have to look at Kroger for it.

 

[audreyh1]

I'm wondering why the price of shrimp has gone up too. I noticed that here recently, and I live in a major gulf shrimp harvest area.

Hmm - apparently disease in Asian farm-raised shrimp has reduced overall supply. http://qualityseafood.wordpress.com/2013/09/20/why-are-shrimp-prices-so-high/

 

[audreyh1]

I'm amazed by how many year around food choices we have compared to when I was a kid. As a kid I had canned green beans 48 weeks of the year. Rasberries had a short season......true of other fresh foods as well. Today, I can always find green beans and Costo hasn't missed a week in months for fresh rasberries. We fly food into our superarkets from all over the world, it seems. Now, I don't want to say food is cheap but I believe it is compared to our countries. I really feel lucky compared to food availability and pricing 55 years ago when I was just starting to grow up. If food prices go up next year I'm not worrying about it but I do feel bad for those on a tight budget. I won't lose weight because I lack food......I may lose weight because of the availability of so many fresh fruits and vegetables that keep me healthy as I age.

Yep, amazing how much we can eat fresh year round.

 

[imoldernu]

A few more details on some of the basic reasons for scarcity and price increases. These events/supply problems are having an effect on the commodity markets. It is very easy to make the connection between food prices, and the relationship to the future of the less necessary businesses that will be affected... namely the "eating out and fast food" industry.
While our immediate concerns about a rise in food prices may not be too alarming to us, individually... that trickle down effect on the lower priced food chains could cause those on lower incomes to forego that lunch at McDonalds, in favor of bringing lunch from home. Should that happen, the next domino would be the service industry jobs.
Yes, conjecture at this point, but something to watch.

Here are two articles that detail some of the specific concerns... the first about "pork disease"... a currently hard-to-stop plague that is destroying entire farms.
Deadly Missouri pig virus expected to cause higher pork prices - KCTV5

KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV/AP) -
A fast-spreading virus that can kill 80 percent of piglets that contract it is rapidly spreading across Missouri hog farms, wiping out entire nurseries in some cases.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) has killed 4 million to 5 million pigs nationwide, or about 4 percent of the pigs that would go to market later this year.

"We had our first initial case in December in northern Missouri," said Marcia Shannon, a swine nutrition specialist with the University of Missouri-Columbia. "Since then, there has been an explosion of it, especially in the first two weeks of February. I would consider it widespread now, especially north of Interstate 70."

About 3,000 farms in Missouri have pigs, she said, and any size farm is susceptible.

The second article covers the problems with the "Orange Greening disease" and some explanation for the huge increase in coffee prices. While th article covers Brazil, it's important to note that the Orange Greening disease is spreading rapidly in Florida.
Orange Juice Wakes Up To Brazil’s Drought - MoneyBeat - WSJ

Brazil’s dry spell is waking up yet another commodity: orange juice.

Futures prices of frozen orange-juice concentrate Wednesday rose to a nearly two-year high as an abnormally hot and dry Brazilian summer raised concerns over output this year from the world’s biggest producer of oranges.

Orange juice for delivery in May on ICE Futures U.S. reached as high as $1.5640 a pound, the highest since April 9, 2012. The month was recently up 1.5% at $1.5550 a pound.

Brazil’s worst drought in decades has pushed up prices of a wide variety of commodities, including coffee and sugar, to multimonth highs, highlighting how a turn in the country’s weather can influence markets across the globe.

Arabica-coffee futures jumped 44% in February alone, the largest monthly percentage gain in almost two decades. On Wednesday, raw sugar for delivery in May was trading near a two-month high, up 2.7% at 18.20 cents a pound.

Finally, much of the news that we see, will be covering the "cost basis" for the food products. Translating margins to the retail prices will, in the long run, could mean even higher consumer costs.
Most of these anticipated supply problems have not happened yet, so the actual impact may be delayed.

Still very concerned about the wine industry in California. My $2.89 Shiraz from Aldi's, could rise by another $.75 if the predicted crop problems continue.

 

[aja8888]

It's time to by food commodities again (pork bellies, OJ, coffee, etc).