The cost of an Independence Day spread is about 3% lower this year than in 2022, according to an annual survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation.
The price of a Fourth of July cookout hit a record high last year amid the country’s worst inflationary spike in decades. This year, families across the country will pay on average $67.73 to host a cookout. Still, that is 14% higher than the same cookout just two years ago.
FIVE SUPREME COURT CASES TO WATCH WHEN JUSTICES RETURN FROM SUMMER RECESS
The slight decrease in price from 2022 comes as several key food items posted year-over-year price declines. For instance, the price of two pounds of chicken breast is now $8.14, 9% lower than in 2022; lemonade is down 16%; a box of chocolate chip cookies has fallen 10%; and pork chop prices have retreated by 6%, according to the AFBF.
Still, other food items typical at an Independence Day barbecue have increased over the past year. A package of hamburger buns is now clocking in at $2.26, up 17% from last year. Ground beef for making hamburgers has risen 4%, and potato salad is up 5%.
“The slight downward direction in the cost of a cookout doesn’t counter the dramatic increases we’ve seen over the past few years. Families are still feeling the pinch of high inflation along with other factors keeping prices high,” said AFBF chief economist Roger Cryan.
“Don’t assume farmers come out as winners from higher prices at the grocery store either,” he added. “They’re price takers, not price makers, whose share of the retail food dollar is just 14%. Farmers have to pay for fuel, fertilizer, and other expenses, which have all gone up in cost.”
The AFBF said that some of the price increases have come from factors outside of the control of farmers and retailers. For instance, beef prices have risen because of drought conditions that have increased the cost of feed and reduced the number of cattle available for grilling. Poor weather has also resulted in less potato production.
Egg prices have declined greatly in recent months after exploding last year due to historic outbreaks of the avian flu causing the deaths of laying hens across the country.
From just April to May, egg prices dropped a massive 13.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the latest consumer price index numbers. That was the biggest one-month decline since January 1951 — some 72 years.
Urner Barry, an independent price reporting agency, separately tracks weekly changes in egg prices through its egg index. Since a peak in late December, egg prices broadly have now plunged a whopping 81%.
Despite the higher overall food prices in the past two years, AFBF President Zippy Duvall pointed out that Americans spend a smaller percentage of their income on food than any other country.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“While the increased costs are difficult and have made it more challenging for some families to put food on the table, it’s important to remember that America still has one of the most affordable food supplies in the world, which is due in part to strong farm bill programs,” Duvall said.
It is also more affordable to host a Fourth of July barbecue in certain states than in others. Revelers in New Jersey, West Virginia, and Virginia are the cheapest states for a cookout this year, according to data recently compiled by Total Shape.