Thanksgiving food prices rise

Before you take a bite out of a turkey this Thanksgiving, it may take a bite out of your wallet.

The holiday bird will cost 22 percent more than last year, a farming trade group says -- helping make the typical dinner for 10 people 13 percent more expensive.

The American Farm Bureau Federation, based in Washington, D.C., said in its annual estimate that the typical family meal of turkey, sweet potatoes, peas and the fixings will average $49.20 this year, compared with $43.47 last year. This year's cost is almost double what it was in 1987. The estimate is based on visits to supermarkets nationwide by more than 100 volunteer shoppers.

A 16-pound turkey will cost $21.57, the survey found -- $3.91 more than last year, making the big bird the biggest increase of any item on the menu.

"Turkey prices are higher this year primarily due to strong consumer demand both here in the U.S. and globally," John Anderson, a bureau senior economist, said in a statement. Other factors, he said, are higher feed and fuel costs.

But, the farm group notes, turkeys often are given free or sold at a discount with a minimum grocery purchase by supermarkets to lure shoppers. Free birds were not factored into the price estimates.

Using a different method, economist Corinne Alexander at Purdue University's Department of Agricultural Economics in West Lafayette, Ind., forecast turkey prices only 3 percent to 7 percent higher than last year.

"Looking at overall food price inflation, consumers are probably going to be paying about 5 to 6 percent more for Thanksgiving dinner than last year," Alexander said in a report Thursday. She blamed higher commodity prices because of rising global demand and bad weather, including flooding in the Midwest and drought in the southern Plains.

At Will Miloski's Poultry Farm in Calverton, president Mark Miloski said his costs for feed -- corn, wheat and soybeans -- are up 25 percent from last year. "It's unbelievable," he said. He's raised prices this year by 10 percent -- to $4.35 a pound for his fresh birds. That makes the price of his 16-pounders about $70.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said the cost of food eaten at home rose by 5.2 percent in the New York and New Jersey region in the year through September.

Salaries, though, didn't keep pace. Martin Kohli, an economist at the statistics bureau, said wages of Long Islanders in private industry rose, on average, by 2.4 percent in the past year -- but fell by 1.4 percent after factoring in inflation.