Trade group: Thanksgiving dinner cost up by 1 percent

Thanksgiving dinner will cost about 1 percent more this year nationally than last, says an agricultural trade association. The turkey probably will be a little cheaper, though, said the group, despite tighter supplies and an increase in its wholesale price.

The Washington-based American Farm Bureau Federation said the "classic" dinner of turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and trimmings for 10 people will cost consumers an average of $43.47. That's up 56 cents or 1.3 percent from last year but, says the bureau, $1.14 cheaper than two years ago. However, the price of the classic dinner has climbed by $11 since 2000.

The 16-pound frozen tom turkey in the dinner is 6 cents a pound cheaper than last year, the farm bureau said, at about $1.10 a pound.

An agricultural economist at Purdue University said earlier this month in her own annual Thanksgiving food price forecast that the nation's turkey flock is 2 percent smaller than at this time last year, resulting in wholesale prices about 15 cents a pound higher. John Anderson, a farm bureau economist, says the supply of turkeys is lower because of higher feed prices, which in turn resulted from weaker-than-expected corn crops in the United States and wheat crops in Russia.

He says retail turkey prices are lower because grocers are featuring turkeys in special sales and promotions. "Consumers still are not in a great mood to spend money, so retailers are doing what they have to do to get people into their stores."

In fliers distributed with Thursday's Newsday, for example, Waldbaum's, Pathmark and King Kullen offered frozen turkeys for 29 cents a pound with additional purchases.

Another local grocer, Jonathan Iavarone, manager of Iavarone Brothers Foods' New Hyde Park market, says turkey is a low profit item, anyway, so he won't pass along the wholesale price increase to his customers. "I don't want to change my prices to the customer right now," he said. "Customers are spending their money on other things."

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He says prices will be up, however, for a number of items, including the disposable aluminum trays in which turkeys often are roasted, paper cups and plates, and anything imported from Europe, such as cheese - the last because of the dollar's decline against the euro.

The Farm Bureau's survey was conducted this year by 112 volunteer shoppers in 34 states, including seven from communities upstate and in Riverhead, who did not attempt to take advantage of promotions such as coupons or "free" turkeys in return for minimum purchases.