Millions of Americans are preparing for Christmas celebrations, with many planning to spend time with loved ones and cooking for the holidays.
According to the Numerator survey, nearly three-quarters of US consumers who celebrate Christmas plan to meet with family and friends, and 33% have plans to celebrate Christmas.
It also found that 61% of people intend to cook or bake at their homes for the holidays.
With Christmas approaching, many of those planning cooking are preparing their grocery lists – and pocketbooks – for the occasion.
Overall, Christmas food and gingerbread, a popular holiday treat, will get costlier in the U.S. this year, as the popular ingredient is experiencing year-over-year price increases, Expana reported.
The commodity data provider said staple food prices – measured by the Main Food Index as part of its Christmas Dinner Index – rose 2.3% compared to last year. This saw turkey, pork, beef, shrimp, lamb, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and turnips.
According to the Expana report, this price increase was “largely due to higher prices of pork, lamb, shrimp and some vegetables”.
All meats tracked by Expana for the Main Food Index except turkey moved up from the previous year. It found that the price of a 16-pound frozen turkey had dropped 13.7% from last November, averaging $1.07 per pound.
Per pound prices for boneless lamb legs are expected to increase 9.2% through 2023, according to Expana. The price of bone-in hams and ¼-inch trimmed bone-in pork butts also increased, with the former rising 8.3% and the latter rising 3.4%, the report found.
Among vegetables included in the main food index, sweet potato prices rose the most by 2.6%. Regular potatoes and turnips saw small increases of 1.6% and 1.4%
Expana pegged the price of carrots at 58 cents per pound, representing a 19.2% decline year-over-year.
Meanwhile, the report saw a 5.5% rise in the gingerbread index containing wheat flour, sugar, butter, eggs, ginger and cassia. This surge was largely linked to the prices of eggs and sugar.
Commodity Data said its “benchmark Midwest large quotations” came in at an average of $4.29 per dozen in November, up 97.5% from the same period last year.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the average price of a dozen large Grade A eggs in U.S. cities was $3.649 as of November, compared with $2.138 a year earlier.
According to Expana, “Factors including strong retail demand, holiday preparations and persistent inflation as well as avian influenza have contributed to their higher costs.”
Apart from eggs and sugar, the price of spices ginger and cassia increased, it was found.
However, butter and wheat have become less expensive by Espana’s measurements. Their prices fell 2.2% and 2% respectively.
The Main Food and Gingerbread Index make up Xpana’s Christmas Dinner Index. Taking into account changes in the cost of each ingredient, Christmas food and gingerbread are projected to grow by 2.4% from 2023, the report said.
For the winter holidays, consumers will spend $261 on food, candy, decorations and other non-gift items, according to separate data from the National Retail Federation.
