Food price outlook: food prices projected to rise 2% to 3% in 2004.(Illustration)

Food Institute Report, The, October, 2003

The Consumer Price Index for "all food" is projected to climb between 2% and 3% in 2004, according to new data from USDA's Economic Research Service. For 2003, USDA forecasts the all food index will range from 1.5% to 2.5% higher than 2002. It looks like prices may come in on the low end of that range however, with the all food CPI through the end of September up 1.7% from a year earlier (see FIR Sept. 22, page 1).

Food at home prices are projected to climb 1.5% to 2.0%, slightly more than the 1.5% to 2% increase forecast for all of the current year.

Once again, higher meat prices will be the leading factor in these advances, with beef prices projected to climb another 3% to 4% on the heels of 4%-5% hikes in 2003. Pork and poultry prices, meanwhile are...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Premium Content Partnership | HighBeam Research provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.