DES MOINES, Iowa — As if trips to the grocery store weren’t nerve-wracking enough, U.S. shoppers lately have seen the price of meat, eggs and even potatoes soar as the coronavirus has disrupted processing plants and distribution networks.

Overall, the cost of food bought to eat at home has skyrocketed by percentages not seen since 1974, and analysts caution that meat prices in particular could remain high as slaughterhouses struggle to maintain production levels while keeping workers healthy.

While price spikes for staples such as eggs and flour have eased as consumer demand has leveled off, prices remain volatile for carrots, potatoes and other produce because of transportation issues and the health of workers who pick crops and work in processing plants.

In short, supermarket customers and restaurant owners shouldn’t expect prices to drop anytime soon.

Tamra Kennedy, who owns nine Mexican-inspired fast-food franchises in Iowa and Minnesota, joined Kalambokidis on a call set up by Iowa U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne. Kennedy said sometimes even getting essential ingredients is difficult.

“You can pick an ingredient, and I can tell you there are shortages,” she said.

Big fluctuations in food prices began in March, when the coronavirus pandemic began to sink in for U.S. consumers.

The Labor Department reports that the 2.6% jump in April food prices was the largest monthly increase in 46 years. Prices for meats, poultry, fish and eggs increased the most, rising 4.3%. Although the 2.9% jump in cereals and bakery products wasn’t as steep, it was still the largest increase the agency has recorded.

The cost of dairy products and fruits and vegetables increased by 1.5% in April.

Egg prices also reached an all-time record of more than $3 a dozen in late March, but they have since fallen to less than $1 a dozen.

Some grocery price jumps were caused by people stocking up when the coronavirus arrived.

But even as some prices have dropped, the cost of potatoes, onions, carrots and other produce has remained above last year’s prices. Much of the increase appears to be because more people are cooking at home.

However, the situation has been worse for meat prices, largely because of illnesses among slaughterhouse workers. The outbreaks struck pork processing plants the hardest, but beef and chicken processors also saw some impact as thousands of workers tested positive for the virus.

The United Food and Commercial Workers union said at least 44 workers had died of COVID-19 as of Friday.

April retail prices for boneless pork chops and ham were nearly 6% higher than March prices, and retail prices for hamburger and sirloin steak were about 4% higher, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported. The price of whole fresh chickens rose by more than 12%.

Gallery • 8 Photos

AP

Produce, meat and eggs sit in a cooler at a local super market May 29, 2020, in Des Moines, Iowa. Food price increases have not increased by such a large margin since 1974.

After numerous closures, most pork plants have reopened, though often not at full capacity, forcing pig farmers to euthanize animals that couldn’t be processed.

“There are biological constraints to this, and that’s why I would anticipate prices to stay high, at least for some period of time,” said Trey Malone, an agriculture economist and professor at Michigan State University. “If you’re going to euthanize thousands of animals and it takes six months to raise a new one, obviously there’s going to be some type of delay or buffer in the supply chain.”

By mid-May, beef and pork slaughterhouses were operating at about 60% capacity, though that figure has since climbed to nearly 90%, said Jayson Lusk, an economist at Purdue University. Although Lusk was optimistic that the worst of the meat supply crunch is over, he said it’s always possible that a second wave of illness could make the situation worse.

For garlic, most of which is imported from China, a 278% price increase from a year ago is largely due to a sluggish supply chain in China.

Jeff Dunn, CEO of Bolthouse Farms, a major provider of carrots and a distributor of salad dressings and fruit- and vegetable-based beverages, said he doesn’t anticipate new supply problems. But he noted that some of his company’s workers in distribution and field work have become sick and that there is an additional cost to implement and maintain procedures intended to keep workers safe.

“There is real cost being built across every supply chain — not just with us but with the retailer in terms of incremental cost associated with COVID,” Dunn said. “At some point, if you want any chance to hold up any kind of margin, those costs are going to have to be passed on or somehow recognized by the government with some help.”

Given that the percentage of Americans’ paychecks that go toward food has declined over the past 50 years, many people likely can handle the recent price increases. But the coronavirus has also pushed roughly 41 million Americans out of work, and for them, even a small price hike can be troubling.

“We’ve obviously seen this record increase in unemployment filings,” Malone said. “For the people who are already operating on the margins, these price increases are nontrivial.”

It’s also a tough time for livestock farmers, who had hoped that after some down years, they would benefit from new trade deals and a strong domestic economy.

“Farmers thought they saw the light at the end of the tunnel,” Lusk said. “It turns out that it was the headlight of a train.”
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