Thanksgiving 2021 is shaping up to be the most expensive in history.
Prices of processed turkeys are up 40.7 percent compared with a year ago, data from the Department of Labor’s Producer Price Index showed Tuesday. That’s even after falling a seasonally adjusted one percent in October.
It may be hard to even find turkeys in some parts of the country this year. The Wall Street Journal reported that turkeys were 60 percent out of stock. Cranberries, yams, and sweet potatoes are also low in stock.
Grain prices are 40.8 percent higher than a year ago, driving up the prices of our largely grain-fed turkey crop. Beef and veal prices are up 41.5 percent compared with a year ago. Overall, food prices are running 10.5 percent higher than a year ago.
Getting to the family Thanksgiving will be costlier with gasoline prices are up close to 90 percent, according to the Producer Price Index. Airfares, fortunately for passengers, are near where they were a year ago and still well below pre-pandemic levels.
Home heating oil is up 114.8 percent. Residential natural gas prices are up 28.7 percent. Residential electricity prices are up 5.6 percent.
Overall, the Producer Price Index—which measures prices from the point of view of sellers—is up 8.6 percent compared with a year ago, tying the record high set last month.