The Price of a July 4 Cookout

This Independence Day, shoppers can expect to pay an average of $70.92 for a cookout for 10 people, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) annual Fourth of July market basket survey. This marks a 30 cent decline from last year, although it remains the second most expensive year since the survey began back in 2013.

The following chart considers just how much different ingredients for a typical Fourth of July menu will set people back this year. According to AFBF analysts, while there have been price drops in the cost of items such as pork chops (-8.8 percent), chips (-2.1 percent) and hamburger buns (-2.6 percent), there have also been increases in the cost of beef (+4.4 percent), potato salad (+6.6 percent) and canned pork and beans (+8.2 percent).

“Inflation and lower availability of some food items continue to keep prices stubbornly high for America’s families,” said AFBF Associate Economist Samantha Ayoub. “High prices don’t mean more money for farmers, however. Farmers are price takers, not price makers. Their share of the food retail dollar is just 15 percent. The cost of running their farm is up, from labor and transportation, to taxes.”

Among the factors influencing the increases are the fact fewer cattle are available for processing, while steel and aluminium tariffs have led to increased prices on canned goods. Egg prices remain elevated, however have come down from their peaks earlier this year as egg-laying chicken populations are starting to recover from avian influenza. Meanwhile, wheat prices are lower than they were several years ago, contributing to the slightly lower cost of hamburger buns.