USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) released the Food Price Outlook for 2022, predicting prices for the aggregate category of “meats” are expected to increase between 3 and 4 percent.
Specifically, ERS projected beef and veal prices to increase between 3 and 4 percent, as well as pork prices. Poultry, fish and seafood prices are projected to increase between 2.5 and 3.5 percent.
ERS also projects food-at-home prices to increase between 1.5 and 2.5 percent, and food-away-from-home prices are expected to increase between 3.5 and 4.5 percent.
For the period from November to December 2021, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of economy-wide inflation, increased by 0.3 percent, up 7 percent from December 2020. The CPI for all food rose 0.5 percent from November to December 2021, and food prices were 6.3 percent higher than in December 2020.
