Food Price Inflation Expected to Stay Below 20-Year Average

At a recent conference, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) revealed that for the first time in nearly 50 years, prices at the grocery store dropped.

While noting the historic statistic, a USDA economist thinks some food prices could edge up this year. However, they should still remain well below the 20-year average of 2.5 percent, staying around the 0 to 1 percent range.

In an article recently published on FarmWeekNow.com, USDA economist Annemarie Kuhns said that “some of the categories we saw a decrease in prices last year” such as poultry, dairy products and cereal and bakery products, could edge higher in 2017.

Though last year represented a rare year with a good number of declining food prices, USDA does expect some food prices to decline this year as well, including eggs and beef.

For the full story, head to FarmWeekNow.com.