US Vegetable Prices Soar Nearly 40% as Water Cuts Crush Supply
- Vegetable costs for producers up more than 80% year-over-year
- Comes after water cuts, storms ravage winter vegetable states
A customer picks out vegetables at a grocery store in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Photographer: Ash Ponders/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Prices for vegetables have almost doubled since last year after the states that grow fresh produce for the US winter saw water cuts and storms that decimated supply.
Vegetable prices saw a 38% jump in November from the prior month, according to the Labor Department’s latest producer price index data. On a year-over-year basis, the surge was more than 80%. The figures come as food costs have been rising at unprecedented levels, cutting into consumer wallets as families recover from the global pandemic.