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Food prices have been increasing steadily since the midst of 2006, in the wake of higher energy prices and higher minerals prices.
This is how it goes, slowly cascading through the primary sector of the Economy and eventually reaching broadly.
In the next months we'll see a run up in bread, which is always a simpton of economic failiure (bread is a Geffen good - they rise during economic recession). Also expect the price of cotton and linen to follow, afecting more seriously the secondary sector.
We are entering slowly and smothly into recession, but that's exactly were we are going.
I agree fuel prices do add to the consumable price, zinging things around is going to have to stop. Wall street journal just quote Dan Yergin again, and Fed chair Bernanke, title is:
How Economoy Could Survive $100/bbl oil.
WSJ online is a pay wall, but never fear, you can read it here at Moneyweb
just put out a few hours ago.
OCB
Luis,
Definitely a wave that is hitting us now, but one of the little ones before the rogue wave.
One thing I have noticed just lately (last 2 weeks) is siginificant package alterations.
One example I noted today...cheese blocks of a standard 600g size for the last 5 years...just changed to 520g...same price.
A 13.3% change/price inflation. I think this will be more common in NA where it seems to be more acceptable (and most likely less people can read and recognize the change).
Time to get a cow :-P
Juice bottles from 14oz to 12oz as well. This is one thing I love about recycling - when packaging looks a little different, I often have an old one to compare it to.
In true Orwellian fashion this inflation will not show up in the official CPI. Some bureaucrat will invoke hedonics to claim smaller amounts are better for the consumer.
Interesting. And I thought it was only me!
Here's another data-point: my children eat a sort of chocolate granola bar when the get out of school. (And a piece of fruit, too!) Up until now, there were (statistically speaking) a dozen or so chocolate chips visible on the top of the bar.
My daughter opened a new packet on the weekend, and thought we had bought the wrong kind, since no chocolate chips could be seen. Turns out it was exactly the same package, same product. Evidently they have reduced the amount of chocolate in order to maintain the same price. We found one chip in the bar...
I expect we will be seeing more of this in the future.
While this is posted in the European side of TOD I have noticed this in the USA. I think I posted to a Drumbeat the other day in a thread talking about food prices, how I have noticed even the CHEAP food stores have rasied prices.
But in the USA they don't count food or fuel prices in the Core inflation numbers. Which is where it hurts the poor or middle class "paycheck to paycheck" people the most. I personally have never been what is termed middle class. I have never made over 20k $USD per year, which puts me in the Lower Class of wage earners in the US. Maybe I just notice things more than most people, Or maybe I can post my opinions online where others just have the street corner.
I do work locally helping the Homeless, most of my work is running the e.mail site and the blog for a group called HUSH, Homeless United to Save the Homeless. While I am not homeless myself, nor is the lady that started the group, she felt that it was her calling because she had been homeless at one time in her life. I see a lot of free foods being offered the Homeless, but someone has to pay for the foods in the long run. As costs go up I am willing to bet the donations will take a hit. But as the world gets further along into the Peak and over the top on the down side more people will show up in the Homeless ranks and the Food will not be there for them.
I am glad there still is a few companies that have door to door service for milk and other products here in the USA.