Planning a 4th of July barbecue? Expect higher prices for some staples, with beef up seven-percent, ground beef up ten-percent and potatoes and pork n beans also costing more, according to Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain.
“There are a number of factors there, but when you start looking at why grocery prices are they not coming down. Well, one is the input cost for what you’re seeing today, some of those started a year ago.”
Strain urges consumers to focus on local, in-season options like fresh corn, Creole tomatoes, and Louisiana watermelon, which are abundant. He says other meat prices have been up year over year.
“According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Chicken is up 3% and ham is over 4%.”
Strain says the American Farm Bureau Federation estimates that an average cookout for ten people will cost about 70-dollars. Strain says for grocery prices to drop, more stability is needed in the market.
“We need the rest of the economy to catch up and slow down the rate of increase in the price of protein, but that is due to the input cost.”
