Local experts talk about why your grocery bill is high, and when you can expect it to drop

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - The next time you go to a grocery store you may realize your monthly food bill has gone up during the pandemic. Local experts spoke with our crew to analyze the spike in prices, and give us their opinion on when to expect prices to drop.

Dr. Mohammad Robbani with Alabama A&M University said there are a few reasons your grocery bill skyrocketed during the pandemic.

“Many of the production was halted," Dr. Robbani said. "So for example we hear the news about the meat packing industry being halted in production at many places because many got infected with COVID-19. So therefore, the production stopped.”

Another reason Dr. Robbani elaborated on is an increase in demand from consumers.

“They need more groceries to buy because before people would eat out in restaurants at least once or twice a week," he said.

The consequences of the demand, the supply price has shot up.

Dr. Robbani said he feels this increase really started mid April, but it’s something he hopes will soon change.

For Dr. Thomas Pieplow, who is a professor at Athens State University, he said there’s relief on the horizon.

Dr. Pieplow said he’s seen a decrease in some of the meat prices that had previously jumped up.

“Beef and poultry declined 10% between July and August, and I think another 5% in August to September," Dr. Pieplow said. "So the point is that you are seeing the adjustments as the supply chain has been able to adjust.”

Dr. Pieplow went on to explain why he feels we can expect a decreased bill soon.

“You are always going to have inflation and personally when looking at the figures of what they project for 2021, I think the figures are what they expect without the pandemic," Dr. Pieplow said.

Copyright 2020 WAFF. All rights reserved.