The price of grapefruit in Texas skyrocketed by almost 25 percent from June to September and sliced turkey was up 14 percent. But chicken breast was six percent cheaper over the same time frame and the price of a head of lettuce cost nine percent less.
Average it all out, and Texas food prices were relatively steady over the last three months, according to the Texas Farm Bureau’s Grocery Price Watch report.
“These prices likely don’t yet include the effects of the extreme drought we’ve experienced here in the southwest region of the United States,” Texas Farm Bureau president Kenneth Dierschke said in a statement.
For example, beef prices were slightly down, even though Texas ranchers have been forced to sell off cattle as the historic drought makes hay prohibitively expensive.
“This will cause a supply shortage down the road, and for consumers, this could result in higher beef prices even after rain does fall,” Dierschke said.
Beef prices nationally are already at their highest level since at least 1984, according to this report from Bloomberg News.
You can see all the price fluctuations for the TFB’s basket of 16 food staples by clicking on the image at the top of this post.
