Prices for Cereal Products Rose 11% During First Half of 2022

Consumer prices for cereal products as measured by the Consumer Price Index rose about 11% from January through June of 2022 compared to the same time last year.  It’s the largest year-over-year increase during those six months since 1981.  The USDA says the rise in consumer prices for cereal products tracks with a more substantial increase in the price of wheat.

The Kansas City Wheat Market most closely reflects the prices that mills pay for wheat, and cash wheat prices were up 63% from the same period last year.  The heightened volatility follows a historically typical pattern. Price changes in commodity markets tend to be relatively more extreme than the changes in consumer prices.

Generally, commodity prices make up a small portion of the value of these cereal products because of the level of transformation and transportation that these products go through while moving through the value chain.

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