As commodity prices rise, Wegmans Food Markets Inc. said Tuesday it will not increase prices through 2011 on 40 products that are most often found in grocery carts.
The 40 products include such items as orange juice, canned coffee, cereal, bananas, red peppers, pasta and sauce, chicken, ground beef, salmon, tilapia, tuna, frozen pizza, frozen vegetables, and deli ham and turkey. Nearly all are Wegmans brand, the Rochester-based grocer noted.
“We considered the importance of an item to a family when choosing our list of 40,” said President Colleen Wegman. “Such things as bananas, pasta, frozen vegetables, and laundry detergent are in most shopping carts every week. They are products that families can’t do without, so what they pay for these items really matters.”
Commodity prices have skyrocketed worldwide in recent months as a result of growing demand, but shrinking supply. Much higher costs for soy-, corn- and wheat-based ingredients in food products, as well as feed for livestock, are pushing up production costs. Fuel costs to transport products from producer to store shelves are also rising – which puts additional upward pressure on prices.
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