M. Shahbandeh
Research expert covering agriculture & FMCG
Food inflation in the U.S. - statistics & facts
Recently, consumers worldwide have felt the impact of rising cost of living. Increasing costs for essentials, like food, have had a big influence on their wallets. The consumer price index (CPI) of food worldwide peaked in April 2022 at 159 and has since begun to decrease but has still remained at least 50 points higher than the average food CPI in 2000. For food and non-alcoholic beverages, the United States and the European Union had the similar inflation rates in 2022, each at over 11 percent. Inflation rates in the U.S. subsided in 2023 but have continued to grow in the EU.
Price development in the U.S.
As of 2023, the food inflation rate in the United States was at about 5.8 percent and is expected to decrease to just 1.3 percent in 2024. However, prices will continue to increase for many food items. For example, the price for a pound of beef is expected to grow until 2025, reaching 8.78 U.S. dollars, before dropping slightly. The price of American processed cheese hit an all-time high in 2023 at 4.96 U.S. dollars per pound, making it 27.5 percent more expensive than just two years prior.Consumer behavior
Continually increasing prices means growing food insecurity among many U.S. consumers. In May 2022, only about a quarter of consumers reported feeling worried about paying for food. As of November 2023, this was a concern of over 43 percent of consumers. A 2023 survey also revealed that 57 percent of consumers cut back their non-essential grocery purchases to account for higher costs. Additionally, the share of consumers who have never stopped a purchase because of the higher prices is at 20 percent, making it the lowest share since April 2022.
