Cost of the Market Basket remains steady in January

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February 12, 2012

NANCY J. CHURCH AND MAIKO BARCOMB Press-Republican The Press Republican Sun Feb 12, 2012, 02:28 AM EST

The total cost of the Market Basket remained steady and showed no significant increase in January 2012 compared to December 2011. Goods went up from $105.67 in December to $105.74 in January, which is negligible at less than 7100 of 1 percent increase.

This is the third consecutive month of good news for consumers. November's prices decreased 1 percent, December's prices showed no significant increase. However, the cost of the Market Basket has increased 13 percent during the past 12 months, from $93.43 to $105.74.

While the overall price of the Market Basket has remained relatively unchanged for the past three months, numerous fluctuations within the food categories have been observed. In January, frozen foods declined in price by 2 percent, drinks and dairy declined by 1 percent. Produce and canned goods remained unchanged, meat increased by 1 percent, and breads, cereals, and grains increased 2 percent from the previous month.

The 2 percent price drop in frozen food items was caused by a 2 percent drop in haddock fillets, a 2 percent drop in green beans and a 4 percent drop in the price of chopped spinach. The local price of orange juice concentrate did not change in January, but commodity prices for frozen orange juice concentrate jumped 25 percent in January and are at 34-year highs, according to Commodities and Futures. The price increase is due to bacterial diseases found in southern orange-growing orchards and a fungicide being used in Brazil that is banned in the United States. This will surely lead to higher local prices for orange juice concentrate in the near future.

While the price of vanilla ice cream did not change in January, ice cream lovers have, no doubt, noticed that prices have increased a whopping 39 percent during the last year. On the other hand, frozen green beans have decreased in price 19 percent from 2011.

The 1 percent drop in prices in the drink category was the result of a 7 percent decrease in tea bag prices, as well as a 1 percent decline in Budweiser beer and store brand cola prices. Coffee was the sole product in this category that showed an increase (3 percent) from the previous month and 31 percent from January 2011. World coffee prices reached all-time highs in 2011. Coffee bean inventories are lower in major coffee-producing countries like Brazil, and some coffee bean growers were holding stocks in hopes of higher prices.

The dairy category also showed a 1 percent increase in prices from the previous month. The price of Blue Bonnet margarine decreased 5 percent, American cheese slices were down 3 percent and large eggs were down 2 percent. Butter, whole milk, and skim milk were all up 1 percent for the month, however. This is in contrast to the nearly 2 percent drop in prices received by New York state farmers for their milk in January.

Although the produce category stayed the same in January, the price of onions (7 percent) and potatoes (1 percent) went up in price. Yellow onions have experienced a higher percentage increase than any other item in the Market Basket. Banana prices remained steady. Apples (2 percent), Carrots (2 percent) and iceberg lettuce (1 percent) went down in price.

The miscellaneous and canned goods categories both showed no aggregate price increase in January. In the miscellaneous category, vegetable oil experienced a 4 percent price drop and Oreo Cookie prices increased 2 percent.

In the canned goods category, Del Monte peas increased 11 percent, while canned tomatoes (7 percent) and vegetable soup (2 percent) were down.

Seasonal Reminder:

In February, most of our vegetables and fruits come from the southern states or are imported from places such as Mexico and Chile. Citrus fruits, such as grapefruit, tangelos and blood oranges, are available, as are root vegetables, such as turnips, winter squash, sweet potatoes, carrots and radishes. Avocados are in good supply at reasonable prices, as are cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli.

Because February is the month of Valentine's Day, green passion fruit and chocolate are definitely in full season.

The Market Basket is a twice monthly survey of 41 food items commonly purchased by consumers. Four major supermarkets in the Plattsburgh area are included in this survey. Grocery data is compiled and reported as a community service by Dr. Nancy Church, Ms. Maiko Barcomb, and Dr. James Csipak, Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, SUNY Plattsburgh.