Food Prices Up, Chicken Shows Greatest Cost Increase

October 09, 2013

The cost of food is on the rise and chicken is leading the way.

The Arizona Farm Bureau Federation says the cost of a typical market-basket of items is up 6 percent from last quarter. Marketing manager Peggy Jo Goodfellow says their shoppers found the average price of a pound of boneless chicken breasts was up $4.65 per pound, a whopping 82 percent, in three months. 

She says prices sometimes spike when the supply is short, but that’s not the case this time.

“This time, this stronger demand was on the consumer side, because they really pushed those retail prices,” Goodfellow said. “According to our economist back in D.C., it's all demand driven.”

But Goodfellow says figuring out why chicken costs are up so much is difficult. While chicken is seen as better for you than beef, the cost per pound has generally run less than other meats. That’s no longer the case. The Farm Bureau says the cost of chicken breasts is approaching what you might have to pay for a sirloin tip roast.