Supply chain issues won’t be Grinching your Christmas party plans, but inflation concerns will leave you walking out of the grocery store a lot lighter in the wallet.
“All of the prices are up, overall inflation is up about 6.8%. What we are seeing in protein prices, beef prices are up 21%, poultry prices are up 6-8% as well,” State Ag Commissioner Mike Strain told WWL. “So we have overall inflation and you are going to pay more for your product this year.”
Strain said he’s worried these prices not only won’t fall after the holiday season, they’ll get worse.
“I am concerned about the growth in food inflation next year simply because of the price of fuel and fertilizer, all of what we call input costs, so I don’t see this as being temporary,” said Strain.
But in the meantime at least take solace in knowing your treats will be on the shelves this Christmas. Probably still shouldn’t procrastinate though.
“Availability is pretty good but you need to go ahead and get your shopping done now,” said Strain. “You may have to shop around to find the kind of turkey in the size that you want, but so far I have not gotten any complaints about there not being food and food products available.”
