Coffee, seafood and fruit: Tariffs will make your groceries more expensive

President Donald Trump, during his announcement last week of sweeping tariffs on countries around the world, called groceries an “old-fashioned” and “beautiful term.” But his policies will make America’s groceries more expensive today, supermarket executives and food industry experts say.

President Donald Trump, during his announcement last week of sweeping tariffs on countries around the world, called groceries an “old-fashioned” and “beautiful term.” But his policies will make America’s groceries more expensive today, supermarket executives and food industry experts say. Supermarkets sell imported items in every section of the store: from fresh and packaged foods to household basics. Trump instituted 10% tariffs across all countries last Saturday and slapped higher reciprocal tariffs on 60 countries and trading blocs today. US businesses shipping goods from overseas will pay for those tariffs, and they will pass some of the higher costs down to consumers. Shoppers can expect to see prices rise on seafood, coffee, fruit, cheese, nuts, candy bars and other imported foods, according to experts. Items that contain ingredients and packaging like plastic and aluminum from other countries will also be hit. Perishable food prices will rise first, followed by shelf-stable goods. Customers may also see smaller-sized products, known as shrinkflation, and find that certain versions of items have been eliminated as companies try to offset their cost hikes from tariffs. Customers can expect grocery prices to increase “in the next couple of weeks,” said John Ross, the CEO of IGA, a chain of independent grocery stores. “Shoppers will start seeing it at scale across the store in the next 90 days.” Food prices will rise 2.8% overall from Trump’s tariffs, including 4% for fresh produce, Yale University’s Budget Lab estimates. The cost burden will hit lower-income shoppers, who spend a greater share of their income on essentials, the hardest. The scale of the price hikes will also depend on the size of the companies.