Even though they’re paying more for ingredients, food manufacturers aren’t being squeezed and have been able to pass on cost increases to consumers, says a new report from CoBank, a major American lender.
The pandemic led to a surge in spending at grocery stores as restaurant sales plunged. Market watchers thought that would be reversing by now as things opened up.
However, “grocery demand remained robust, sales remained elevated, (and) food companies were able to begin raising prices and profit margins, on average,” said CoBank.
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“We believe that consumer food spending habits, which have become firmly entrenched after two years of the pandemic, will persist for a good while even if COVID fades into the background by mid-year,” said bank official Rob Fox.
