Traditional turkey dinner costs 13 percent more

A freezer case of frozen turkeys is seen at Mar­ket Bas­ket in Con­cord, N.H. The Amer­i­can Farm Bureau Fed­er­a­tion reported that a meal with turkey and all the trim­mings will cost about 13 per­cent more this hol­i­day. The costs for nearly every­thing from cran­ber­ries to pump­kin pie are up. But the biggest price hike is for the main course: a 16-pound turkey costs 4 per­cent more this year at $21.57. (Asso­ci­ated Press | Larry Crowe)

Asso­ci­ated Press

The Amer­i­can Farm Bureau Fed­er­a­tion reported Thurs­day that a meal with turkey and all the trim­mings will cost about 13 per­cent more this year.

The trade group esti­mates a clas­sic meal for 10 will cost $49.20 on aver­age. That is $5.73 more than last year’s $43.47 average.

The meal will cost less than $5 a per­son, but it’s still much more expen­sive than in years past. The jump results from food mak­ers and gro­cers rais­ing their prices to cover higher com­mod­ity costs.

Nearly every­thing from cran­ber­ries to pump­kin pie is pricier this year, but the biggest hike is for the main course: A 16-pound turkey costs almost $4 more this year, at $21.57, accord­ing to the trade group.

The group sur­veyed prices in stores nation­wide. But gro­cers often dis­count key items as the hol­i­day approaches and that could reduce the cost of Thanks­giv­ing dinner.

John Ander­son, senior econ­o­mist for the Farm Bureau, said it’s impor­tant to remem­ber that Amer­i­cans spend a smaller per­cent­age of their income on food than most peo­ple around the world.

“Given what is going on in the econ­omy, higher prices on any­thing are not wel­come,” Ander­son said. “(But) it does not have the same impact as food prices in other parts of the world do. We are for­tu­nate in that sense.”

Posted by AP News on Nov 14 2011. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS Feed. Comments can be made below.