Sep 13, 2023

Arlington, VA - Today, FMI - The Food Industry Association Vice President, Tax, Trade, Sustainability and Policy Development Andy Harig issued the following statement on the August 2023 Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers that reveal food price inflation rates continue their incremental decline. 

“The August CPI report illustrates that inflation for food-at-home continues to stabilize and create a more predictable shopping experience for consumers. Despite this, Americans still face inflationary headwinds, driven in part by higher fuel prices, which are an important input in food production and need to be watched. Even as food prices – and the broader economy – continues to recalibrate, there is reason for optimism. 

“FMI’s U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends series on evolving grocery habits from shoppers surveyed this summer found that 70% of shoppers are concerned with rising grocery prices, down from 75% in February, illustrating that consumer concerns, while still elevated, have started to ease and reflect the decline in food inflation.   

“There is still work to be done to fully tame inflation, but the food industry continues to engage to make sure that Americans have the safest, healthiest, and most affordable food supply possible. New FMI analysis that examined the value of Americans’ grocery dollar since 2001 found that despite inflationary increases and short-term price fluctuations, the real cost of groceries in the U.S. as a share of household income has remained remarkably consistent, and relatively flat, over the last two decades.”