Grocery prices are rising as beef, coffee hit record highs

About half of all Americans say the cost of groceries is a major source of stress in their life and the latest inflation data shows that pressure isn’t easing.

Grocery prices rose 0.6 percent from July to August, the steepest one-month gain in roughly three years, according to the Consumer Price Index. They’re now 2.7 percent higher than a year ago and up nearly 30 percent from before the pandemic.

Grocery inflation has cooled considerably since the summer of 2022, when it peaked above 13 percent year-over-year, but President Trump’s tariffs and tighter immigration rules are clouding the outlook.

So far, Trump’s trade policies haven’t pushed up consumer prices as much as many economists feared, but some items including coffee are starting to feel the grind.

Coffee prices surged 3.6 percent in August, the biggest monthly jump since 2011, leaving them 20.9% higher than a year ago. Recent droughts in Brazil and Vietnam explain part of the increase, but the latest spike comes on the heels of Trump’s 50 percent tariff on Brazil, the world’s largest coffee exporter.

The U.S. is also highly reliant on imports — and immigrant labor — for its fresh fruits and vegetables. Tomato prices rose 4.5 percent last month, lettuce 3.5 percent and bananas 2.1 percent, the CPI shows. Overall, fresh vegetable prices climbed 3 percent in August, the largest monthly increase since 2020.

Limited cattle supply has continued to put upward pressure on beef prices, which are at record highs. Meanwhile, egg prices — though down roughly 40 percent from their March peak — remain up from a year ago amid lingering bird flu disruptions.

Coffee

• Price Increase: +20.9 percent from August 2024 to August 2025
• Average Price: $8.87 per pound in August 2025 (Coffee, 100%, ground roast)

Ground roast coffee prices in the U.S. hit a record $8.87 per pound in August, up from $6.31 a year earlier.

The surge has been fueled in part by volatile weather in Brazil and Vietnam, which has cut production forecasts in the world’s two largest coffee exporters.

Unlike most foods that can be produced domestically, the U.S. is almost entirely dependent on imports for its coffee supply.

At the same time, demand for coffee has remained strong — and Trump’s 50 percent tariff on Brazilian goods, including coffee, has added further upward pressure.

Brazilian coffee exports to the U.S. fell 26 percent from July to August, according to coffee exporters group Cecafe, which said tariffs weighed on performance.

Beef and veal

• Price Increase: +13.9 percent from August 2024 to August 2025.
• Average Price: $6.32 per pound in August 2025 (100% ground beef)

The average price of ground beef hit a record $6.32 per pound last month, up more than 13 percent from a year earlier and nearly 60 percent higher than at the start of 2021, according to the CPI’s average price data.

At the core of the problem is supply and demand. U.S. cattle inventory is at its lowest level in nearly 75 years, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. Yet Americans’ appetite for steaks and cheeseburgers has remained strong.

To meet that demand, the U.S. imported a record 4.6 billion pounds of beef in 2024, making it the world’s second-largest importer. Australia is the top supplier to the U.S., followed by Canada and Brazil. Trump’s tariffs on Brazilian beef could add pressure to global supply chains, potentially keeping U.S. beef prices elevated in the months ahead.

Adding to the strain, the emergence of a flesh-eating pest in Mexico prompted U.S. officials to halt cattle shipments from south of the border last year.

Eggs

• Increase: +10.9 percent from August 2024 to August 2025
• Average Price: $3.59 per dozen (Grade A, large)

After peaking at $6.23 per dozen in March, egg prices dropped to $3.59 in August. Costs remain roughly 11 percent higher than a year ago but are finally moving in the right direction.

Average egg prices more than doubled from March 2024 to March 2025, a shell shock that was largely driven by a bird flu epidemic that wiped out tens of millions of egg-laying hens.

“Egg-flation” got so out of control that some started raising chickens in their own backyards, while others tried to illegally smuggle eggs into the U.S. from Mexico.

Bird flu outbreaks have since slowed, leading the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to end its emergency response in July.

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