Despite dropping gas prices, grocery costs unlikely to fall any time soon
BOSTON – You can just about feel the anxiety set in the second you grab the shopping cart. Groceries are costing more and finding "deals" seems more difficult than ever.
The Consumer Price Index showed groceries are up 13.5% compared to this time last year. While other industries such as gasoline and clothing are on a steady decline, there are no signs of groceries dropping soon.
Dr. Brian Bethune explained that the reason behind the lack of decrease in food costs has to do with how it gets from farm to shelf.
"The upstream cost in food is not gas, it's diesel fuel," Bethune said. "You need a lot of 18-wheelers to move that food around and the diesel prices are exceptionally higher."
Bethune said diesel prices are up about $1.50 a gallon year over year. Compare that to current prices of gasoline that are up 50 cents a gallon year-to-year.
Part of the reason, Bethune said, is due to the incredibly high cost to refine diesel to the EPA's standards. Pair that with the war in Ukraine and you have a recipe for increased costs that will likely stick around.
Edgar Dworsky is a consumer expert with consumerworld.org and said shoppers need to be savvier than ever.
"They (groceries) are just going up by leaps and bounds and it just seems like there is no end to it," Dworsky said.
He recommended shoppers download their favorite store's mobile app. Often, deals are listed on the app that cannot be found anywhere else. Dworsky said sales advertised in papers are often mobile app exclusives, making it difficult to know decipher the price you will pay.
"So, if you think you are getting those sell prices just by putting your number in when you check out or scan a loyalty card, you are sadly mistaken," Dworsky said.