Food Prices to Increase 9%, Says Analyst

It's not just oil and gas, it's everything. And food is especially not safe. Bill Lapp of Advanced Economic Solutions (he was previously the chief economist for ConAgra Foods Inc.) said that food prices in the U.S. will rise 9% per year through 2012, reports Reuters.

During a telephone news conference, Lapp said he was completing a new analysis of food and commodity prices. He foresaw average corn prices of $5.25 a bushel through 2012, with wheat around $6.50 and soybeans near $11.

"When I do that analysis and look at the relationship between that and food prices, I get a 2008-12 average annual rate of increase in the consumer price index for food of 9.0 percent," he said.

Already, food prices increased 4% during 2007, says USDA, and they've predicted that cereals and bakery products will rise 8% this year. In 2009 they say to expect to see meat, poultry and fish to also go up.

Photo by sajrow via Flickr