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Lettuce, strawberries, and other groceries that dropped in price in the South last month

Grocery prices at large are not going down. But there are some exceptions.

Record inflation has severely impacted fuel costs and pricing for virtually all of our everyday necessities, including weekly groceries. Many factors have contributed to the surge in pricing, including producers’ increased cost to package goods and extreme weather conditions that destroyed crops. Grocery prices are up about 10.2% between February 2022 and 2023. The increase from January is more moderate, at just 0.3%.

While costs remain high overall, prices for some food items came down last month. Stacker used monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics data to find the five grocery items that experienced the largest price decreases in the Southern region in February, using year-over-year changes as a tiebreaker where needed.

For this analysis, the South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Stacker excluded some hyper-specific meat categories in order to better understand grocery price fluctuations more broadly.

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#14. Whole milk (per gal.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -0.1%
– Annual change in cost: +13.9%
– February 2023 cost: $4.26

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#13. Long-grain white rice (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -0.3%
– Annual change in cost: +25.9%
– February 2023 cost: $1.07

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#12. Bananas (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -0.5%
– Annual change in cost: +2%
– February 2023 cost: $0.61

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#11. Dried beans (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -0.7%
– Annual change in cost: +9.7%
– February 2023 cost: $1.51

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#10. Tomatoes (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -1.6%
– Annual change in cost: +3.8%
– February 2023 cost: $1.80

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#9. Lemons (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -2.7%
– Annual change in cost: -0.1%
– February 2023 cost: $2.26

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#8. White bread (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -3.2%
– Annual change in cost: +24.9%
– February 2023 cost: $1.71

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#7. Cheddar cheese, natural (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -4.1%
– Annual change in cost: +12.1%
– February 2023 cost: $5.65

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#6. Ice cream, prepackaged in bulk (per 1/2 gal.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -4.2%
– Annual change in cost: Not available
– February 2023 cost: $5.44

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#5. American processed cheese (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -4.4%
– Annual change in cost: +18.3%
– February 2023 cost: $4.47

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#4. Ground coffee (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -4.7%
– Annual change in cost: +32.2%
– February 2023 cost: $6.10

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#3. Strawberries (per 12 oz.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -5.6%
– Annual change in cost: Not available
– February 2023 cost: $2.97

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#2. Romaine lettuce (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -6.6%
– Annual change in cost: Not available
– February 2023 cost: $2.62

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#1. Eggs (per doz.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -12.9%
– Annual change in cost: +124.8%
– February 2023 cost: $4.16

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