Thursday, October 27, 2022

"Americans Will Freak Out When Food Prices Soar 65% From Current Levels"

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"Americans Will Freak Out When Food Prices 
Soar 65% From Current Levels"
by Epic Economist

"It seems like the bad news won’t stop coming. At this point, every routine trip to the grocery store has become a cause of distress. Already, Americans have seen food prices going up for 20 consecutive months, but the nightmare isn’t over. Morgan Stanley Research shows that the price of some food staples is set to shoot up by 65% from current levels as an increasing number of companies continue to announce price hikes, and new disruptions on the supply chain threaten the food and energy security of our entire country.

A new forecast from Bloomberg says it is 100% likely that the recession will continue into next year, which means that conditions for about 3 in 4 American households are still going to get worse than they are right now. Honestly, that’s hard to conceive, especially considering that about a quarter of households in the U.S. have eaten significantly less in September compared to the month before, according to a new survey released by Morning Consult. That’s almost a 10% increase from August, which really exposes how rapidly the pain is spreading across our nation.

43% of consumers are having to dial back on purchases of meat, opt for generic brands and search for discounts to be able to make ends meet. Morning Consult’s researchers noted that current shopping trends marked a “stark contrast” compared to last year when many Americans were panic buying and hoarding food items. Now, they can’t afford to do that anymore. “Consumers are purchasing only the necessities and waiting for sales or their next paycheck to be able to purchase non-essential items,” the researchers added.

Morgan Stanley Research says that there’s little relief in sight on grocery store bills. Executives at large, food manufacturers and analysts expect food inflation to accelerate this winter and into 2023. Food staples, such as vegetable oils and wheat and grain based products are expected to rise by almost two-thirds, or around 65% from current levels, as we head towards the end of the year, they noted. The price of items like pasta and bread are expected to rise by 60% and 40%, respectively. The worst wheat harvest in nearly 50 years and the Ukraine crisis are major contributors to the coming increases.

And if you’re shopping for Thanksgiving, good luck because turkey prices are going through the roof. A few weeks ago, the American Farm Bureau Federation announced that "families can expect to pay record high prices at the grocery store for turkey”. But it’s safe to say, nobody could imagine that the retail price for fresh boneless, skinless turkey breast would actually skyrocket by 112% over the last 12 months.

Adding assault to injury, the devastating global energy crisis that has erupted is likely to intensify as new supply chain disruptions interrupt the flow of energy supplies in our country. Bloomberg reports that new transport woes — both for river and rail — are threatening the nation’s food and energy security. Needless to say, it’s never a good time to have a transportation crisis, and now is especially bad timing for new supply chain problems to emerge.

People are going to be forced to choose between eating and staying warm this winter. There’s a lot of uncertainty and factors in play that could still aggravate this situation. So we truly hope you guys got prepared ahead of time because the next couple of months are going to be exceedingly challenging for millions upon millions of people."

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