Grocery Shortage: Supply Chain, Omicron, Transportation Issues, Weather and Climate Change or Are They Really Just Resetting Your Expectations?

 

FLORIDA 

Opinion by:  
E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin  

If you have been to your local grocery store in the last few days you've probably noticed all those empty shells in the grocery aisles. It seems that there are a lot of grocery items that are short supply.

For some insight on the grocery shortages check out this article From NPR By Joe Hernandez: Grocery store shortages are back. Here are some of the reasons why.

If you happen to shop in one of the large megastores like Walmart or Target and wander through the rest of the general merchandise portion of the store you will also notice a number of empty shelves.

There is no doubt, that we are experiencing issues in all those items in the title of this Post.

The grocery issue is most concerning to me. Given the fact that the grocery industry and the food distribution system in this country have been viable for decades and has managed to cope with a seeming unending number of crises, why suddenly are we seeing these empty shelves at the grocery store?

There's no doubt that some of it is due to supply chain issues, the current state of employment in our country, and perhaps to some small degree weather issues.

During your grocery shopping trips, I'm sure you, like everybody else, have noticed that prices are increasing. Everyone seems to be blaming inflation as the as the cause for rising grocery prices.

You may have also noticed that every time these empty shells are restocked the prices are higher.

Here is a look at Grocery sales and profits from the National Grocery Association (nga) Independent Grocers Reach Record Sales and Profits.

If you're like me, I don't normally pay a whole lot of attention to the price when I find a commodity item back in stock in my local grocery store. I just grab it go to the checkout pay the price.

I can't help but wonder if it's just possible that the grocery industry is using shortages and empty shelves to ease these price increases into place.

It wouldn't be the first-time shortages have been used to justify price increases.

E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook  (E. Eugene Webb) Friend request. Like or share o  Facebook , follow me on TWITTER  @DOC ON THE BAY.

See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.  

Disclosures: