The cost of the main ingredients in that great American staple, the bacon cheeseburger, rose in the second quarter of 2014.
The American Farm Bureau Federation announced that its “marketbasket” — a report on the average cost of 16 basic food items used in preparing meals — rose to $54.26, up $1.06 from the previous quarter. The increase was mainly due to the rise in beef, pork and dairy prices.
“As anticipated, food prices have increased moderately – by about 2 percent – during 2014, which is essentially in line with the average rate of inflation over the past 10 years,” said John Anderson, the federation’s deputy chief economist.
The survey found that the average price of ground chuck was $4.31 a pound, up 17 percent; sliced cheddar was $4.78 per pound, up 6 percent; and bacon was $5.11 per pound, up 9 percent.
Those increases offset drops in the prices of other products such as: flour, down 7 percent to $2.47 for a five-pound bag; chicken breast, down 12 percent to $3.46 per pound; orange juice, down 8 percent to $3.21 per half-gallon; apples, down 2 percent to $1.56 per pound; and bagged salad, down 10 percent to $2.55 per pound.
