Groceries more expensive this year

Missouri shoppers are paying more for food than they did this time last year.

The latest Missouri Farm Bureau survey shows prices have gone up on beef and dairy products by about 1.5 percent.

Those price hikes are not only occurring in the state, but nationally as well.

Bureau officials say the recent high prices on meats here in Missouri are likely because of a greater international demand.

“We have a lot of countries now that are demanding protein- and they are getting it from the United States. That increases the consumption, so consequently, we see a real push for our product,” said Diane Olson, of the Missouri Farm Bureau.

And Olson says that push did not come at a very good time. She says many farmers are not able to keep up with the demand.

“There are lots of things happening in our protein industry. When you think about the droughts we had the last couple of years, it really caused farmers to look at their herd and many of them downsized,” said Olson.

But somehow the price of bacon in the state has not been touched. Olson says we can thank our local pig farmers for that.

“Bacon is not something that gets on the shelf overnight. Part of the price is the fact that we’re centrally located. We have a lot of that produced in a local area, so you don’t have the transportation cost,” said Olson.

Right now the price of bacon in Missouri is 99 cents cheaper than the national average.