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HANOVER, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Grocery shoppers in Hanover have seen a spike in price increases on their produce.
Tariffs put in place by the Trump Administration this year along with a shortage of agricultural workers in the U.S. have caused grocery prices to go up across the board, Phil Lempert, a food industry analyst, told CBS News. The price of vegetables in particular is jumping much higher, tomatoes are especially high right now due to 70% of the tomatoes we consume in the U.S. coming from Mexico and a 17% tariff was put in place on them this summer.
Many consumers are concerned about this increase and have been struggling before these produce tariffs kicked in. Dana, a Norwell resident said, "it really sucks, we already have a hard time affording groceries."
The increase in costs means that some consumers have to make sacrifices, with some not purchasing vegetables altogether. "I think people are going to buy less quality of food," one shopper said. Another said, "the way the prices are going up, it's ridiculous."
Dana isn't very hopeful for the prices to lower soon and said, "it's only going to get worse with higher and higher tariffs."
WBZ NewsRadio’s Jim MacKay (@JimMacKayOnAir) reports.