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According to this AP article I read in Sunday’s local rag (the primitive kind, printed on this thing called “paper”), the whole sale bulk price of peanuts will more than double compared to last year, from $450 a ton to more than $1,200.
Peanut Prices To Skyrocket After Dry Summer
Another hot, dry summer in key producing states and competition from more profitable crops like cotton have significantly shrunk the U.S. peanut crop this year. The tight supply means consumers will soon pay more for yet another grocery staple. ….. Peanut butter producers already have plans to hike prices for peanut butter significantly in the next few weeks. ….. The J.M. Smucker Co., which makes Jif peanut butter, plans to raise its wholesale prices 30 percent in November. Kraft Foods Co., which launched its Planters peanut butter in June, is raising prices 40 percent on Oct. 31. A spokesperson for ConAgra Foods Inc., which makes Peter Pan peanut butter, was not immediately available to comment but multiple media outlets report that the company plans to raise its prices, as well.
According to the National Peanut Board, a peanut “fun fact” is that the average American eats six pounds of peanut butter or peanut-related products each year. Sounds like a lot, but it’s only a little over three and a half 28-ounce jars.
Multiply for an average family, it’s only 14 jars at about sixty bucks. Peanut butter shelf life is typically given at 9 8 to 9 months, but from what the posters at Snopes.com say on this (and Snopes as we all know is the repository of all things debunkable), storage times longer than a year for commercial PB are not uncommon. I myself have found old jars in camping gear supplies way past the consume-by date, and it was fine.
Sixty dollars is not a whole lot, but at 30 to 40 percent possible increases, it’s 24 dollars in avoided cost, and 24 bucks is nothing to sneeze at (it’s at least part of a Costco membership). Granted, weather patterns may reverse next year, and farmers may just be swimming in a bumper crop of peanuts.
There is similar situation developing with beef. The drought has forced Texas and Oklahoma ranchers to slaughter more breeding cows than usual, as feed prices have jumped higher.Add increased demand for US beef from Asian consumers, and the USDA already projects a 9 percent increase in beef prices next year. Our own strategy for dealing with this increase is buying half a beef from a local farmer, same as we did last year.
From Bloomberg: Cattle Prices Jump to Record As Beef Exports Cut Supply From Smaller Herds
Readers, do you have similar forward bulk buying strategies? Prices are going up, that seems certain. How about toiletries, would you buy in bulk?
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Not a Peanut Butter fan myself but interesting article! No when it comes to beef..yum!
Tushar@EverythingFinance recently posted..How To Avoid The Windfall Pitfalls And Make The Most Of It
That is a significant increase. I wonder how much the peanut butter on the shelf will ACTUALLY increase. In other words, could it be possible that it is just an advertising scheme to get people to buy more of their products now?
20′s Finances recently posted..Weekend Wrap-Up #1
Could be, 20sF, but if that’s the case, it would only be a short-term bounce. Producers are careful with excessive hikes in the sense that higher retail prices cause consumers to switch to alternate goods.
PB producers might choose to eat (heh!) the higher raw material costs in anticipation of better rates per ton next year.
We don’t actually eat enough peanut butter to buy up that much ahead of time. We maybe go through one or two jars a year at most. I think the dogs get more peanut butter than I do when they take medicine although cheese works well too.
cashflowmantra recently posted..My Three Pound Budget Buster
In which case, it wouldn’t work for you. Is there anything you consume a lot of that might make sense to buy in bulk?
I count us lucky. 1) our kids aren’t big peanut butter eaters (one won’t touch the stuff) 2) we buy our beef from a local rancher too.
The cow this year is a little slimmer then last due to our drought. She has not raised the price per pound and I know she’s not making much.
Are you buying a whole beef or 1/2?
Buying the whole cow and splitting it into thirds. Last year we bought 2 cows, arranged the delivery to the butcher, separated the meat out and delivered it to 7 families. It was not worth all the leg work!
Molly (Mike & Molly’s House) recently posted..Updates and Giveaway Winner!
No drought here and I’m buying my 1/4 beef sometime in the next couple of weeks. I was surprised that the price is the same as I paid last year.
Peanut butter though? Afraid we don’t eat enough of it to pay attention but you made me look at the expiry date (August 2011) – oops. Might be time to give it to Sparky.
Jacq recently posted..Is blogging a waste of time (and possibly money)?
Hi Jacq – Sparky will appreciate you for sure.
Operation PB commenced this afternoon, with standard GV store brand from Walmart. Tomorrow I’m going to look at some organic PB, and see what kind of expiry date it has.
It is so funny that you wrote about this. I actually have it on my to do list today to go and get some PB and stock up. We use it a fair bit in cooking.
I think if things aren’t parishable for a long time then buying in bulk is the way to go especially if it is something you use often.
I do wonder about what 20′s finances said- it could be a marketing scam although I doubt it. The same thing happened with pine nuts last year because there was a crop shortage due to weather.
Miss T @ Prairie Eco-Thrifter recently posted..8 Ways to Inspire Children to Help Others
Hi Miss T. – Mrs. 101 is very fond of PB for satays and stir-frys.
Coffee is the other thing that we buy in multiple quantities. Our local Walmart started stocking Cafe Bustelo cuban coffee, and I’m afraid they’ll stop carrying it if it doesn’t sell well. I’ve even gone out of my way to recommend it to people in the tea and coffee aisle. Some will say thanks, and some move away quickly.
We only go through about a jar per year. It’s not worth stocking up at that rate.
retirebyforty recently posted..Occupy Portland Part 2
Well, that proves the theory that PB has a year-long shelf life.
My pantry is already over-stocked with PB. I forgot to check before buying more at the store last month, so I have three whole jars to get through on my own. I hope it doesn’t go bad. I’m sure major brands that have added emulsifiers, sweeteners and preservatives last a very long time, but I buy the kind that is just peanuts and salt, period.
Hi Linda – no doubt the major brands have a little extra, although the store brand that we buy only lists sugars, 2% molasses, and hydrogenated veg oil, which I’m not too crazy about. I think the producers are selling themselves short with that consume-by date: the stuff probably has a half-life of a couple hundred years
As I said in a reply above to SMRM, I’m going to see about some organic PB tomorrow.
I missed the redesign of your site. It looks great! Guess I should stock up on PB now.
Little House recently posted..Beggar’s Can’t Be Choosers Quarterly Update
Hi LH – no majorly major redesign, just added a couple buttons here and there.
I should make sure my husband doesn’t read this. He will use this as an excuse to buy 10 jars and finish it off in 10 weeks
We usually don’t buy PB because if it is there we finish it too quickly. The only thing we buy in bulk is toilet paper, esp. if the Charmin goes on sale.
Suba recently posted..Occupy Wall Street (Los Angeles) – Why, what, where, when, who & how, in their words
A jar a week, now that’s ambitious! You’ll need 52 jars for the coming year.
I agree with this 100%. Unfortunately dh does not. He hates to stockpile anything. And we eat a lot of peanut butter and peanuts! I think he has a fear of full shelves! lol
Maggie@SquarePennies recently posted..I’m Traveling This Week
Hi Maggie – you’re going to need more shelves…
Nice catch! I eat a lot of peanut butter; a bizarre cocktail of peanut butter and honey sandwiches. They go great together, totally under-rated.
Darwin’s Money recently posted..Even at 3.25%, Refinancing Makes NO SENSE! Here’s Why
Nothing bizarre about that! A spoonful or three of peanut butter, dimpled in the middle, and drizzled with honey. Heaven!
Or, leftover pancakes with PB and honey.
none of us eat PB! good brain work though for this article!
SB @ One Cent At A Time recently posted..16 Ways to Show Your Wife You Care
Hi SB – my brain hurts now. Fetching more than three content-related links is a chore.
Well we do eat a lot of PB. It’s one of the cheapest sources of protein and I’m sure even after the increase it will continue to be so. I was wondering why it hasn’t gone on sale lately and I haven’t seen skippy coupons in ages. I guess I should stock up this weekend too.
Good Tips 101. I actually switched to buying ground turkey. It’s been cheaper/# than the ground beef out my way.
Hi Sandy – ground turkey is one thing I haven’t quite warmed up to, maybe I need to take a second look for a little variety. Beef in the Southwest is probably cheaper.
I am glad we’re no peanut butter fans except for the casual Reese cups but I still find the increase a bit too much. The problem lies in other food items increasing as well which puts pressure on the household budget.
Time for the fans to stock up on PB!
BeatingTheIndex recently posted..PetroViking Energy: An Emerging Junior in the Viking Resource Play
Hi Mich – food prices are up in general. I wonder how the current drought is going to impact prices next year. There are several ponds that I’ve been driving by every day for 10 years on the way to work, now completely dry. I hope it’s going to be a wet winter.
Wow, that’s crazy to see how everything is affected now. I guess I better go stock up now!
youngandthrifty recently posted..Top 6 Teenage Misconceptions about Money (and How to Set Them Straight)
Sadly we don’t have such a clever forward thinking stategy. Food is my weakness, I need to get a grip around it!
Excellent research!
Money Reasons recently posted..Improve Your Lifestyle By Creating a Personal Food Budget
Food is my weakness too. I like to have a lot of it around
I can see the benefits of bulk-buying for a certain a sizeable discount. The problem we experience is that we simply use more of it when we have more. Any financial saving is wiped because we consume more.
Hunter @ Financially Consumed recently posted..All iTunes Sales Are Final, After This One
Hehe! I think it is a great investment! I just need to find an elephant owner to sell it to!
Moneycone recently posted..9 Impulse Buys That Turned Out Better Than Expected!
Hmm, how does an elephant like its peanut butter, I wonder?
If this really is the case, and people can know in advance that prices will go up, then it’s information to be acted upon.
So, if you typically consume a certain number of jars of PB in your household over the shelf life period of 9 months, then might as well buy now. Maybe not buy 9 months worth, but perhaps 4 or 5 months just in case.
Or, if you think stories like that are ploys to boost immediate sales, then perhaps you might not act accordingly
Squirrelers recently posted..The Pareto Principle: How the 80/20 Rule Can Apply to Your Money
@ Squirrelers – with our kind of luck in the food wars, the boys will probably start hating PBJ sandwiches *after* we’ve stocked up.
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