The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, according to the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA), is one of the factors driving up the price of your Thanksgiving meal this year.
According to a USDA document released this month, the epidemic of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that killed 8 million turkeys in 2022 will result in higher turkey prices. The USDA added that there are further causes “driving up the price of Thanksgiving essentials,” including “Russia’s war on Ukraine and the drought across the US.”
Regarding how Turkey’s prices are being impacted by Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, USDA did not respond to inquiries. Increased food and energy costs have been referred to as “Putin’s price hike” by President Biden and his administration, who have frequently attributed the broad spike in inflation to Russia.
But according to data from the Biden administration, inflation accelerated nearly almost when Biden became president in February 2021.
The Biden administration announced that consumer prices had increased 7.5% in the year ending in January 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, just before Russia invaded Ukraine in late February 2022.
Inflation soared significantly before Russia invaded Ukraine, reaching a peak of 9.1% in the year ending in June 2022. Russia’s attempt to obstruct Ukraine’s export of grains has caused price increases. However, before Russia’s invasion, the cost of feed grain was growing along with the cost of many other commodities.
The USDA document noted that the 0.4% increase in grocery costs in October was the “smallest increase since December of last year,” indicating that the Biden administration has made headway in its fight against rising food prices.
In comparison to projections from non-government sources, that document similarly understated the effect that inflation is having on the price of Thanksgiving dinner.
The average price of Thanksgiving mainstays would only rise by roughly 1% from last year
According to the report, the average price of Thanksgiving mainstays like fresh turkey, sweet potatoes, and green beans would only rise by roughly 1% from last year to this year.
The average price of a Thanksgiving dinner, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, is up 20% from the previous year. According to the Farm Bureau, prices for stuffing mix, frozen pie crusts, whipping cream, frozen peas, and dinner rolls have all climbed by more than 20%. The cost of turkey in retailers hasn’t risen as much, despite the possibility that those costs will remain high over the holiday.
Grocery retailers usually reduce the price of turkeys closer to Thanksgiving and sell them as a loss leader to attract customers, according to Beth Breeding, vice president of communications and marketing at the National Turkey Federation.
Nevertheless, she claimed that the prices she saw in actual stores in the days leading up to Thanksgiving were higher than they had been the previous year. They went from 93 cents per pound to $1 per pound, an increase of nearly 7%.