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

Grocery shoppers felt a slight reprieve this spring as grocery prices fell after a run of increases spanning back to September 2020.

Grocery prices remained relatively unchanged in May and June, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. It certainly didn’t undo the two years of historically high inflation, and prices were still up 4.7% from June 2022. But urban prices have fallen in many grocery categories, including eggs, meats, vegetables, grains, 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 further 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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#13. All-purpose white flour (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -0.4%
– Annual change in cost: +6.3%
– June 2023 cost: $0.47

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#11. Spaghetti and macaroni (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -0.5%
– Annual change in cost: +10.3%
– June 2023 cost: $1.18

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#11. Wine (per 1 liter)

– One-month decrease in cost: -0.5%
– Annual change in cost: +3.4%
– June 2023 cost: $12.23

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#10. Chocolate chip cookies (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -0.6%
– Annual change in cost: +9.0%
– June 2023 cost: $5.14

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#9. Bananas (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -1.0%
– Annual change in cost: -4.4%
– June 2023 cost: $0.59

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#8. Whole milk (per gal.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -1.5%
– Annual change in cost: +3.0%
– June 2023 cost: $4.08

The Toidi // Shutterstock

#7. American processed cheese (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -1.9%
– Annual change in cost: +1.7%
– June 2023 cost: $4.74

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#6. Malt beverages (per 16 oz.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -2.8%
– Annual change in cost: +1.2%
– June 2023 cost: $1.63

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#5. White bread (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -2.9%
– Annual change in cost: +14.5%
– June 2023 cost: $1.76

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#4. Lemons (per lb.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -4.5%
– Annual change in cost: Not available
– June 2023 cost: $2.13

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#3. Potato chips (per 16 oz.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -5.2%
– Annual change in cost: +14.1%
– June 2023 cost: $6.73

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#2. Strawberries (per 12 oz.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -8.6%
– Annual change in cost: +6.1%
– June 2023 cost: $2.36

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#1. Eggs (per doz.)

– One-month decrease in cost: -16.3%
– Annual change in cost: -23.3%
– June 2023 cost: $1.94