07/09/08 Market basket survey

The American Farm Bureau says that the price of 16 items at the grocery store rose three and a half percent from the first quarter of the year. Jim Sartwelle says the volunteer shoppers have been buying the same items every three months since 1989. Compared to the same time last year the grocery prices were up 8.5 percent. SARTWELLE "The food industry is no different from the rest of the economy. When it costs more to get things places whether it's your family to the beach or your food to the grocery store you're going to pay for it. It's going to be reflected in the price." Energy cost increases for gasoline, diesel, electricity and natural gas, the high costs of processing products and the much higher cost of then transporting any finished product to a place where consumers can get it are all playing a role in the higher cost of food. SARTWELLE "The average person hears about crop prices and livestock prices where they are right now they probably think our folks out in the countryside are getting rich. The share of the food dollar that the farmer got has decreased from about a third in 1980 to less than 20 percent today." But it's not all energy related. The law of supply and demand is involved with some crops. Sartwelle says flour prices are up 35 percent from last year, white bread prices have increased 20 percent in a year and that is related to the tight wheat stocks around the world. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott