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

Grocery shoppers may have felt a slight reprieve in March 2023 as grocery prices fell month-over-month for the first time since September 2020.

The decline was moderate, at about 0.2% since February, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. It certainly didn’t undo the two years of historically high inflation, and prices were still up 8.4% from March 2022. But urban prices fell in most grocery categories, including eggs, meats, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products.

Many factors have contributed to past surges in pricing, including producers’ increased cost to package goods, extreme weather conditions that destroyed crops, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the lasting effects of COVID-19.

While costs remain high overall, the decreases mean dollars can stretch a bit farther at the grocery store. Stacker used monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics data to find the grocery items that experienced the largest price decreases over the last month in the South, 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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#16. White potatoes (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -0.3%
– Annual change in cost: +17.5%
– March 2023 cost: $1.01

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#15. All-purpose white flour (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -0.4%
– Annual change in cost: Not available
– March 2023 cost: $0.47

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#14. Wine (per 1 liter)

– One-month decrease in cost: -0.6%
– Annual change in cost: +0.8%
– March 2023 cost: $12.26

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#13. Bananas (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -0.8%
– Annual change in cost: -2.9%
– March 2023 cost: $0.61

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#12. Whole chicken (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -1.0%
– Annual change in cost: +13.2%
– March 2023 cost: $1.75

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#11. Dried beans (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -1.0%
– Annual change in cost: +3.9%
– March 2023 cost: $1.5

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#10. Frozen concentrate orange juice (per 16 oz.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -1.3%
– Annual change in cost: Not available
– March 2023 cost: $2.43

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#9. Whole milk (per gal.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -1.5%
– Annual change in cost: +11.4%
– March 2023 cost: $4.19

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#8. Ground beef (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -1.5%
– Annual change in cost: -3.0%
– March 2023 cost: $5.03

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#7. Ham (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -1.9%
– Annual change in cost: +7.6%
– March 2023 cost: $4.15

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#6. Tomatoes (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -1.9%
– Annual change in cost: +1.1%
– March 2023 cost: $1.76

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#5. Navel oranges (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -2.7%
– Annual change in cost: -1.5%
– March 2023 cost: $1.51

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#4. Romaine lettuce (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -3.1%
– Annual change in cost: Not available
– March 2023 cost: $2.54

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#3. Ground coffee (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -3.6%
– Annual change in cost: +22.8%
– March 2023 cost: $5.88

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#2. Strawberries (per 12 oz.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -8.3%
– Annual change in cost: +6.5%
– March 2023 cost: $2.73

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#1. Eggs (per doz.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -23.1%
– Annual change in cost: +67.8%
– March 2023 cost: $3.2