US Consumers Face Food Price Rises
US - Food prices are expected to rise by four to five per cent before the end of the year, led by increases for beef, dairy and pork products.US food prices are seen rising four to five per cent by the end of this year largely because of higher prices for beef, pork and dairy products, an agricultural economist told the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit 2010 in Chicago last week.
Bill Lapp, economist and president of Advanced Economic Solutions, said: "We have beef, pork and dairy prices all increasing substantially since December, in the area of roughly 10 per cent. Because food manufacturers and restaurants tend not to be philanthropic organisations, they are going to pass those costs on to their consumers."
As a result, he predicted food prices could be four to five per cent higher by December than a year earlier.