In case you missed it, last week the GAO released a new report on food prices and the drivers behind the price increases witnessed over the past year.
Their key take-aways are as follows.
“Many factors that affect the food supply chain can affect retail food prices. It is difficult to determine the individual effect of any one factor on retail food prices, according to USDA officials and experts we interviewed. Some of these factors (e.g., weather) have posed long-standing challenges for the food supply chain, while others (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict) have had more
recent effects. These factors can also contribute to increases in prices for global agricultural commodities (e.g., wheat, corn, and soybeans), which in turn can affect retail food prices, as USDA officials emphasized.
Federal agencies may indirectly affect retail food prices, such as through their efforts to support the food supply chain. For example, selected federal agencies have taken some actions, such as offering regulatory relief and other flexibilities, to address supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, agencies do not have a direct role in controlling price increases, according to agency officials. ”