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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: Retail prices for food at the supermarket dropped
slightly in the second quarter of 2006, according to the latest Kentucky Farm
Bureau Federation Marketbasket Survey. The informal survey shows the total cost
of 40 basic grocery items in the 2006 second quarter was $91.13, down 5.1
percent or $5.31 from one year ago.
The surveyed items decreased $1.89 in cost during the second quarter of 2006,
following a decrease of 66 cents in the first-quarter survey.
Price trends were mixed, however, among the food categories. Of the 40 items
surveyed, 19 decreased and 21 increased in average price compared to the
previous quarter.
“Decreased retail prices for meat and dairy products during this quarter
reflect underlying lower prices paid to producers at the farm gate,” said
Kentucky Farm Bureau President Marshall Coyle. “On the flip side, higher energy
prices passed along by food processors to consumers likely contributed to
increased retail costs for several items,” he said.
Of the items surveyed, T-bone steak showed the largest decrease, down 97
cents to $7.40 per pound. Rib-eye steaks followed, dropping 65 cents to $7.73 a
pound. Other items that decreased in price included; tomatoes down 37 cents to
$1.37 per pound; butter, 28 cents a pound lower to $2.58; chuck roast, down 25
cents to $2.85 per pound; and sliced bacon and self rising corn meal, each down
19 cents to $2.84 a pound and $1.64 per 5-lb. bag, respectively.
Items that increased in price from the first quarter of 2006 were: sirloin
tip roast, up 40 cents to $3.70 per pound; soy sauce, up 34 cents to $1.37 for a
5-oz. bottle; dill pickles, 30 cents higher to $2.04 per 16-oz. jar; corn oil up
25 cents to $2.23 for a 32-oz. bottle; potato chips, 17 cents more at $2.20 for
an 8-oz. twin pack; and whole fryers, up 13 cents to $1.07 a pound. All of the
remaining 15 items in this group increased in price just five cents or less per
item.
The share of the average food dollar that Kentucky farm families receive has
dropped over time, despite gradual increases in retail grocery prices.
“Going back to the mid-1970’s, farmers received an average of one-third of
consumer retail food expenditures. That figure has dropped steadily over time
and is now at just 22 percent, according to USDA statistics,” Coyle said.
Using that percentage across-the-board, the farmer’s share of this quarter’s
$91.13 marketbasket total would be $20.05.
Kentucky Farm Bureau, the state’s largest general farm organization, conducts
its informal quarterly marketbasket surveys as a tool to reflect retail food
price trends. According to Agriculture Department statistics, Americans spend
just 9.5 percent of their disposable income on food annually, the lowest average
of any country in the world.
A total of 18 volunteer shoppers in as many counties participated in this
latest survey, conducted during June.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT TERRI BRADSHAW
Office 502-495-5191
Cellular 502-718-1164 |
