The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented
disruption of global supply chains, the axis on which the modern service
economy spins. Social distancing requirements have scathed both supply and
demand sides of the coin. The quarantine means that people don't need as much
fossil fuel for their cars and so on. The precipitous falling off of demand
means lower prices, as anyone who's glanced at a gas pump recently knows.
On the flip side, a coronavirus outbreak at an industrial
agriculture plant can threaten production. Ordinary people feel the sting of
that where it hurts: their wallets. Everyone still has to eat. And with
restaurants remaining at limited capacity, grocery stores see more traffic than
ever.
Psychological panic from economic disruption also exacerbates
the issue. Worried families begin hoarding food. Their purchases create a
devastating feedback loop in which prices rise higher and higher.
New figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
crystallize the phenomenon. A CNN
Business article breaks down the numbers according to food group and meal
categories. The statistics represent price changes between March and April of
this year.
Breakfast
The most important meal of the day, as the saying goes, is
now that much more difficult to assemble. Breakfast cereal, doughnuts, and
muffins are between 1.5 and 5 percent more expensive. Egg prices went through
the roof with a painful 16.1 percent increase. Beverages haven't escaped the
rationing either. Milk, juice, and coffee all cost more money recently.
Lunch
Lunch might be the most insubstantial meal of the day by
custom. Its lean makeup looks like a blessing in disguise right about now. Soup
costs 2.6 percent more than it did. Fruit prices are up across the board.
Dinner
Because of more and more sickness bouts at slaughterhouses,
meat is more expensive. The Bureau report indicates that pork is up 3 percent.
Chicken costs 5.8 percent more. Fish is 4.2 percent less cheap. Healthy options
seem limited, with vegetable prices up by 1.5 percent. People nursing recent
additions to their families are buying baby formula at 2.7 more than they were.
And as for sweets and dessert? Soda and cookies might now be extravagances that
fewer families can afford to indulge in. They're up by 4.5 percent and 5.1
percent respectively.
Exceptions
It's cliché to say that economics is complicated. While
social scientists can isolate trends, there are few, if any, hard and fast
rules. Not every meat category price rose. Ham and sausage prices fell at the
modest rates of 1.7 and 0.3 percent respectively. There was a dairy reprieve with
butter down 1.3 percent. Some veggie alternatives appear more viable, with
pre-prepared salad prices decreasing by 3.6 percent and tomatoes by 1.4. And maybe
people can afford that dessert after all: Cupcakes cost a merciful 2.3 percent
less.
