The price is going down on some of what Missourians are putting on the dinner table each night … other items are going up. Jessica Machetta has the story.
The American Farm Bureau monitors the grocery aisles every quarter in its Marketbasket Survey, and the Missouri Farm Bureau reports that our state is even with the national average.
Diane Olson says this is the 20th year the bureau has asked shoppers to buy 16 items and track spending … but she says this year some of the products were switched out to reflect consumer demand.
New this quarter, sliced deli ham replaces pork chops; shredded cheddar cheese replaces a block of cheese; whole fryers became chicken breast while mayonnaise and corn oil were dropped. Two new items round out the list — orange juice and bagged salad.
The survey found that prices dropped just more than $2 over the previous quarter’s total. Olson says dairy products showed a significant change.
Surprisingly, she says, shredded cheese is now cheaper than a block of cheese. Prices have also gone down for potatoes, ground chuck, sliced ham, chicken breasts and salad mix. But consumers are paying slightly more than before for sirloin tip roast, bacon, apples, cereal, flour, bread and orange juice.
Olson says the economic decline is causing some packaging changes and consumers should pay attention to what they’re buying.
The national price average for these 16 items is $47.41 … Missouri’s total is just one penny less than that, $47.40.
Jessica Machetta reports [Download/listen MP3]
