from Visual Capitalist
Visualized: Food Inflation in the U.S. (2015-2025F)
Over the past decade, U.S. food prices have fluctuated significantly, reflecting economic, environmental, and global factors. But where is the trend headed?
This bar chart, sponsored by Brazil Potash, uses data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to show U.S. food inflation from 2015 to the forecasted 2025.
The Inflation Peak of 2022
From 2015 to 2019, annual food price changes in the U.S. hovered below 2%, signaling a period of stability. The lowest came in 2016 at 0.3%. However, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 disrupted this trend, pushing prices up by 3.4%, followed by a sharper climb of 3.9% in 2021.
In 2022, food prices increased by 9.9%, the fastest of any year since 1979. That same year, food-at-home prices increased by 11.4%.