Rising prices: Impact of big chill starting to hit grocery stores

Local grocery shoppers can expect to pay more for Florida fruit and vegetables in the wake of freezing temperatures in early January that wreaked havoc on produce in the Sunshine State.

"Some of our fruit costs have gone up by $15 to $20 a case over the last couple of weeks," said Patty Moore, produce manager with Warren's IGA on Muskingum Drive.

She said supermarkets usually see some kind of increased produce costs every winter.

"But not by that much," Moore said. "I've seen increases of maybe $5 to $8 in the past."

Strawberries apparently took a big hit from the Florida cold snap. Moore said the store has a special ad price for strawberries this week, so she ordered extra.

"I ordered three cases, but our buyer said we could only get two cases per delivery because there was a cutback due to this month's freeze," she said.

Tom Jackson, president and CEO of the Ohio Grocers Association, agreed that berries were affected most by the Florida freeze.

"A trade journal said the freeze affected berries more than it affected the oranges," he said. "And tomatoes were spared because they had already been harvested in Florida."

Jackson said while there are alternative locations where produce can be purchased, including Texas, California, Mexico and Chile, anytime the overall supply is reduced or demand increases, it's going to affect the price at the register.

"Grocery is a classic model of supply and demand," he said. "Prices increase in direct proportion to demand and short supply."

Dan Neff, manager of the Kroger supermarket on Acme Street in Marietta, said he hasn't seen any effects from the freeze on the store's produce.

"But anything that affects the produce growers sooner or later affects us," he said.

Moore said the prices of squash, cabbage and other vegetables are also likely to climb over the next few weeks due to the cold weather's effect on Florida farms, but she noted that the cost of produce has also risen in other areas that weren't affected by the freeze.

"We just received a shipment of tomatoes from Mexico that increased $18 over the last couple of weeks," she said.

"I feel sorry for the produce companies who do the shipping - they have to make their money, too," Moore added. "But I really feel bad for the farmers."