WMTW interviews Crawley for report on food cost increases due to coronavirus

WMTW (Channel 8 in Portland) interviewed Andrew Crawley, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Maine, for a report on the increases of food costs for Mainers due to the coronavirus pandemic. “It’s just the whole aspect of the supply chain beginning to change as a result of different work practices, and as a result, I think that’s beginning to filter to the prices that we are facing,” Crawley said. “Originally it was costs have risen. Now, that’s starting to trickle through to prices.”  According to the USDA’s food price outlook, grocery prices will rise 2.5%. Prices have already increased by nearly 4% for meats, poultry and fish, 15% for eggs and 2.7% for cereal and baked goods. “This came about so quickly, most economists could never predicted we would see this at this kind of pace, so unfortunately it is a wait and see,” said Crawley. WABI (Channel 5) carried the WMTW report.