'It's like when you see the tsunami coming in': Agricultural economists sound the alarm about produce prices doubling

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Reposted by Kevin M. Kruse
https://bsky.app/profile/kevinmkruse.bsky.social

hilzoy
‪@hilzoy.bsky.social‬

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Whee!

fortune.com/2025/08/28/t...

‘It’s like when you see the tsunami coming in’: Agricultural economists are sounding the alarm about produce prices doubling
Consumers “don’t have a clue what’s going on,” said Raymond Robertson, a labor economist.
fortune.com
August 29, 2025 at 8:02 PM

Whee!

fortune.com/2025/08/28/t...

— hilzoy (@hilzoy.bsky.social) 2025-08-30T00:02:13.560Z

[Fiendish Thingy]

1. Consumers will have a clue once they're paying more

Just in time for the midterms.

Gerrymandering ain’t gonna save the GOP.

[Nigrum Cattus]

2. Here in Cali we are already paying more

Only certain items. Most things that are labor
intensive to harvest. Why the repugs won't issue
agricultural visas wholesale is very foolish

[underpants]

3. I'd guess we really start feeling it at Thanksgiving

definitely Christmas

[mwmisses4289]

4. Some consumers don't have a clue.

Others very much do!

[nitpicked]

5. Some items have already doubled

At a local store, an 8-pound bag of potatoes could be found for $2.77 last year: now it is $5.99 when on sale.

Dollar Tree used to have 6 packs of ramen for a dollar; now it's five packs for $1.50.

Just wait until the tariffs REALLY kick in. Will canned tuna skyrocket too?

[nitpicked]

6. And don't rely on US agriculture

Long gone are the days when there were lots of farmboys fit enough (like my father) to hire out to help others with the harvest.

Who else is there fit enough to help out on farms now?

[progree]

7. Rural America is suffering an economic crisis as crop prices plunge, Fortune, 8/30/25

Last edited Thu Sep 4, 2025, 08:14 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220599123

. . .They have asked lawmakers to help increase access to export markets, including China, which is still locked in a trade war with the U.S.

. . . U.S. producers of corn and soybeans have sent dire warnings as prices for their crops have crashed in recent years while ... Donald Trump’s trade war whipsaws farmers.

. . . Corn prices have plunged more than 50% from their 2022 peak, while production costs are down just 3% in that span, translating to a loss of 85 cents per bushel, the NCGA [National Corn Growers Association] said, adding that the outlook for next year is worse with even lower prices and higher costs.

On the other hand,

WHOLESALE VEGETABLE PRICES UP 38.9% in One MONTH
https://www.today.com/food/news/wholesale-vegetable-prices-skyrocket-rcna225193

From the source (Producer Price Index, aka wholesale prices) :
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ppi.t02.htm Final Demand goods -> final demand foods -> fresh and dry vegetables
+38.9% from June to July, seasonally adjusted

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. Wow. . . . . nt

[bucolic_frolic]

9. These are not supply and demand problems like in the Great Depression

These are labor and distribution problems caused by tariffs.

[peppertree]

10. Whole Foods and Kroger are really holding the line on prices - for now