Farm Progress, in a report on food prices, writes, the rate of inflation may ease a bit in the coming months, but that won’t come as much relief for growers and consumers still facing mounting costs, two financial experts acknowledge.
Despite rising commodity, labor, and energy costs, the farm value of retail food prices has remained low, noted Joseph Glauber, a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute. “Post-farm gate costs and drivers really have a big impact on food inflation,” Glauber said. “Because we saw the overall macro economy heat up (after pandemic-related shutdowns), food prices were really high there.” He added, “The real problem is what it means for chronic hunger,” noting that it was on the rise again after many years of decline even before COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine made matters worse. Inventories of wheat, corn, soybeans, and rice were already at historic lows before the Ukraine war, and the costs of fertilizer, energy, and labor were already rising, Glauber said.
Read more about what impacts on nutrition Glauber predicts for 2023.