The U.S. Federal Trade Commission will look into why grocery prices are still high despite falling costs for retailers.
FTC Chair Lina Khan made the announcement during a public meeting with officials from the Justice Department on pricing practices. When the FTC votes to authorize the study, major U.S. grocery chains would be required to provide information on their costs and their prices of common products. Food prices have risen by 25 percent between 2019 and 2023. U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics say that’s a faster rate of increase than in other consumer goods and services. Reuters says an FTC study showed food prices for U.S. consumers rose 11 percent between 2021 and 2022, while profits for food retailers went up more than six percent.
“We want to make sure that major businesses aren’t exploiting their power to inflate prices for American families at the grocery store,” Kahn says.
