Grocery prices are rising as beef, coffee hit record highs

Grocery prices roseate 0.6% from July to August, the steepest one-month summation successful astir 3 years, according to the Consumer Price Index. They're present 2.7% higher than a twelvemonth agone and up nearly 30% from earlier the pandemic.

Grocery ostentation has cooled considerably since the summertime of 2022, erstwhile it peaked supra 13% year-over-year, but President Donald Trump's tariffs and tighter migration rules are clouding the outlook.

So far, Trump's commercialized policies haven't pushed up user prices arsenic overmuch arsenic galore economists feared, but immoderate items including coffee are starting to consciousness the grind.

Coffee prices surged 3.6% successful August, the biggest monthly leap since 2011, leaving them 20.9% higher than a twelvemonth ago. Recent droughts successful Brazil and Vietnam explicate portion of the increase, but the latest spike comes connected the heels of Trump's 50% tariff connected Brazil, the world's largest java exporter.

The U.S. is besides highly reliant connected imports — and immigrant labor — for its caller fruits and vegetables. Tomato prices roseate 4.5% past month, lettuce 3.5% and bananas 2.1%, the CPI shows. Overall, caller rootlike prices climbed 3.0% successful August, the largest monthly summation since 2020.

Limited cattle proviso has continued to enactment upward unit connected beef prices, which are at grounds highs. Meanwhile, ovum prices — though down astir 40% from their March highest — stay up from a twelvemonth agone amid lingering bird flu disruptions.

Coffee (+20.9%)

Ground roast java prices successful the U.S. hit a record $8.87 per lb successful August, up from $6.31 a twelvemonth earlier.

The surge has been fueled successful portion by volatile upwind successful Brazil and Vietnam, which has cut accumulation forecasts successful the world's 2 largest java exporters.

Unlike astir foods that tin beryllium produced domestically, the U.S. is astir entirely dependent connected imports for its java supply.

At the aforesaid time, request for java has remained beardown — and President Trump's 50% tariff connected Brazilian goods, including coffee, has added further upward pressure.

Brazilian java exports to the U.S. fell 26% from July to August, according to coffee exporters radical Cecafe, which said tariffs weighed connected performance.

Beef and veal (+13.9%)

The mean price of crushed beef deed a grounds $6.32 per lb past month, up much than 13% from a twelvemonth earlier and astir 60% higher than astatine the commencement of 2021, according to the CPI's mean terms data.

At the halfway of the occupation is proviso and demand. U.S. cattle inventory is astatine its lowest level successful astir 75 years, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. Yet Americans' appetite for steaks and cheeseburgers has remained strong.

To conscionable that demand, the U.S. imported a record 4.6 cardinal pounds of beef successful 2024, making it the world's second-largest importer. Australia is the apical supplier to the U.S., followed by Canada and Brazil. Trump's tariffs connected Brazilian beef could adhd unit to planetary proviso chains, perchance keeping U.S. beef prices elevated successful the months ahead.

Adding to the strain, the emergence of a flesh-eating pest successful Mexico prompted U.S. officials to halt cattle shipments from southbound of the borderline past year.

Eggs (+10.9%)

After peaking astatine $6.23 per twelve successful March, ovum prices dropped to $3.59 successful August. Costs stay astir 11% higher than a twelvemonth agone but are yet moving successful the close direction.

Average ovum prices much than doubled from March 2024 to March 2025, a ammunition daze that was mostly driven by a bird flu epidemic that wiped retired tens of millions of egg-laying hens.

"Egg-flation" got truthful retired of power that immoderate started raising chickens successful their ain backyards, portion others tried to illegally smuggle eggs into the U.S. from Mexico.