00:00Fresh fruit is getting way more expensive, and war thousands of miles away is a big part of the
00:05reason why. Wholesale prices for blueberries, limes, tomatoes, and other produce have risen
00:11sharply over the past month, according to data from the USDA. Increasing oil prices due to the
00:16war in Iran are a major driver. When fuel costs go up, fresh food feels it first. That's because
00:23fresh produce requires lots of transportation over long distances, as well as lots of refrigeration,
00:29both of which require lots of diesel. And diesel is one of the fuels whose price has gone up over
00:34the past month, as oil shipments have been disrupted in the Strait of Hormuz. Some of the price increases
00:40are steep. Blueberries are up 40% over the past month, tomatoes have increased 50%, and limes have
00:47gone up a whole 60%. Not all of the increase is due entirely to fuel costs. Some produce is brought
00:53in
00:53from Central and South America and subject to tariffs that President Donald Trump instituted.
00:58The question now, though, is how much of these supplier price increases will flow through to
01:04the shelf tags that you see at the grocery store. Most retailers operate on razor-thin profit margins.
01:10That means they're likely to pass along the costs of higher prices to the consumer. But if they raise
01:16prices too fast or too much, consumers may just hold off on produce altogether. And that's bad news,
01:22because produce is the thing that goes bad fastest in a grocery store. That all leaves grocers in a
01:27tough spot. They have to balance higher costs with the risk of waste. To read more about how global
01:32events are influencing your grocery bill, head to Business Insider.
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